RAINFORESTS OF THE WORLD

[Adapted for Kindergarten from

 Enchanted Learning.Com.  

More detailed information can be

 found on this excellent site.]

What are Rainforests? 

Rainforests are very dense, warm, wet forests with trees,

• Millions of plants and animals live in rainforests. 
• It is almost always raining in a rainforest.          
  • Rainforests get over 80 inches (2 m) of rain each year. 
  • This is about 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) of rain each week.
• The temperature does not change much in a rainforest.
  • The range of temperature in a tropical rainforest is usually between 75° F and 80° F (24-27° C).
  •  Temperate rainforests rarely freeze or get over 80° F (27° C).
• Rainforests are extremely important in the ecology of the Earth. 
  • The plants of the rainforest make much of the Earth's oxygen. 
  • These plants are also  are used in new drugs that fight disease and illness.

Where are Rainforests? 

Tropical rainforests are located in a band around the equator.

• Most are in the area between the Tropic of Cancer
  (23.5° N latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S latitude). 
• This 3,000 mile (4800 km) wide band is called the "tropics." 

Go to a rainforest map printout to color.

• South and Central America

• Australia
• Southeast Asia and Southern India
• West Africa 

More Rainforest Animals

South and Central America  

Vertebrates

Fish

• Electric Eel
• Piranha

Amphibians

• Caudata Order: Salamanders and newts

• Anura Order:  Frogs and toads

  • Poison-arrow frogs: Harlequin Poison Dart Frog, Golden Poison Frog, Strawberry Poison Dart Frog, Lehmann's Poison Frog, Blue Poison Frog, Green or Golden Poison Arrow Frog, Flaming Poison Arrow Frog

  • Red-eyed tree frog

  • Glass Frog

  • Gold Frog

  • Marsupial Frog

  • Amazon Horned Frog

  • Darwin's Frog

• Caecilian Order: 

  • South American Caecilian

Reptiles

• Snakes : Anaconda, Emerald tree boa, Boa constrictor
• Lizards
• Turtles

Birds

• Game birds and ground birds : Great curassow; Great tinamou, Hoatzin

• Water and shore birds : Sunbittern

• Birds of prey : King vulture, Black caracara, Yellow-headed caracara, Harpy eagle

• Tree and air birds : Ruby-throated hummingbirds, Common potoo, Resplendent quetzal, Blue-crowned motmot, Double-toothed barbet, Red-crested touraco, Toucan, Roufous-tailed jacamar, Xenop, Blackish antbird

  • Parrots: Scarlet macaw, Hyacinth macaw, Golden conure 

• Song birds : Purple honeycreeper, Royal flycatcher, Wire-tailed manakin, Andean cock-of-the-rock, Long-billed woodcreeper, Cardinal grosbeak, Ovenbird

• Mammals : Subclass

  • Monotremes
  • Marsupials
    • Didelphimorph Order
      • Opossum Family: Virginia Opossum
• Placentals
  • Carnivore Order (cats, dogs, musk-smelling mammals)
    • Cat family : jaguar, ocelot, Mountain lion (also called the Puma or the Cougar) 
    • Dog family : Bush dog
    • Mustelid family : 
    • Procyonid family : Raccoons, Cacomistles, Coatimundis, Kinkajous, Olingos
      • Ring-tailed coati
      • Spectacled bear
      • Kinkajou 
  • Artiodactyl Order: (Even-toed hoofed mammals)
    • Tayassuid Family: Collared Peccary 
    • Hippopotamus Family :
  • Perissodactyl Order: (Odd-toed hoofed mammals)
    • Horse family
    • Tapir family
    • Rhinoceros family
  • Primate Order (Monkeys, apes, humans)
    • Lemur Family
    • New World Monkey Family:   Black Howler Monkey, Woolly Spider Monkey, White-footed Capuchin Monkey, Red Howler Monkey, Monk Saki Monkey
    • Callitrichid Family: Marmosets and Tamarins 
      •    Pymgy Marmoset
      •    Golden Lion Tamarin
      •    Emperor Tamarin
  • Chiroptera Order (Bats)
    • Family Emballonuridae (sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats)  - Brazilian long-nosed bat
    • Family Megadermatidae (false vampire bats) - Ghost bat
    • Family Noctilionidae (bull-dog or mastiff bats) - Greater Bulldog Bat 
    • Family Mormoopidae (naked-backed bats) - Ghost-faced bat,  Parnell's moustached bat
    • Family Phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats) Short-tailed fruit bat, Common vampire bat, Hairy-legged vampire bat, Long-nosed bat, Miller's long-tongued bat, Linnaeus' False Vampire Bat, Fringe-Lipped Bat, Tome's Long-Eared Bat, Peter's Wooly False Vampire Bat, White-Shouldered Bat, Mexican Fruit Bat, Wrinkle-Faced Bat, Honduran White Bat, White-Lined Bat, Rayed Bat, Ipanema Bat, Visored Bat, Common Yellow-Shouldered Bat, Peters' Tent-Making Bat
    • Family Natalidae (funnel-eared or long -legged bats) 
    • Family Furipteridae (smoky or thumbless bats)
    • Family Thyropteridae (disc-winged bats)
  • Rodent Order : Includes rats, mice, squirrels, gerbils, hamsters,  beavers, lemmings, guinea pigs, porcupines, chinchillas, hutias and more. 
    • Species: Prehensile-tailed porcupine (also called the Tree porcupine).
    • Species: Capybara
    • Species: Watson's tree-climbing rat 
  • Xenarthra Order
    • Armadillo Family: Giant armadillo
    • Anteater Family: Giant anteater,  Silky anteater
    • Sloth Family:  Three-toed sloth

Invertebrates 

    Insects

• Butterflies and Moths (Morpho Butterfly, Julia butterfly, Monarch Butterfly
• Beetles
• Grasshoppers, Crickets, Ants, 

    Spiders

Australia and New Guinea Rain Forest Animals  

Vertebrates

Fish

Amphibians

• Caudata Order: Salamanders and newts

• Anura Order:  Frogs and toads

  • Giant tree frog

  • Striped marsh frog

  • Northern barred frog

  • Dainty green tree frog

 Reptiles

•  Snakes : Carpet python, Green tree snake
• Lizards: Frilled lizard, Spotted monitor, Eastern water dragon, Boyd's Forest dragon, Northern leaf-tailed gecko, Tokay gecko
• Turtles
• Crocodilians: Saltwater crocodile

Birds

• Game birds and ground birds : Cassowary

• Water and shore birds : 

• Birds of prey :  

• Tree and air birds :  Victoria Crowned Pigeon

  • Parrots: Australian king parrot, Rainbow Lorikeet, Budgerigar, Greater sulphur-crested cockatoo

• Song birds: Superb lyrebird

•  brolga, emerald dove, orange-footed scrubfowl, Australian brush-turkey, sarus crane, gray goshawk, wompoo fruit dove, topknot pigeon, , laughing kookaburra, lesser sooty owl, fernwren, barred cuckoo-shrike, golden whistler, etc.)

• Mammals : Subclass
  • Monotremes
    • Short-nosed Echidna
    • Duck-billed platypus
  • Marsupials
    • Native cats (Carnivorous marsupials)
      • Antechinus
    • Koala
    • Great glider
    • Sugar glider  
    • Lumholtz's Tree kangaroo 
    • Musky rat-kangaroo 
    • Long-nosed bandicoot
    • Tasmanian Pademelon (also known as Red-Bellied Pademelon, Rufus Wallaby)

  •  

  • Placentals
  • Carnivore Order (cats, dogs, musk-smelling mammals)
    • Cat family : 
    • Mustelid family : 
    • Procyonid family : 
  • Artiodactyl Order: (Even-toed hoofed mammals)
    • Hippopotamus Family 
  • Perissodactyl Order: (Odd-toed hoofed mammals)
    • Horse family
    • Tapir family
    • Rhinoceros family
  • Primate Order (Monkeys, apes, humans)
    • Lemur Family 
     
  • Chiroptera Order (Bats)
    • Family Fruit bats
      • Tube-nosed fruit bat
    • Family Emballonuridae (sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats) 
    • Family Megadermatidae (false vampire bats) - 
      • Ghost bat
    • Family Noctilionidae (bull-dog or mastiff bats) - 
    • Family Mormoopidae (naked-backed bats) - 
    • Family Phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats)   
    • Family Natalidae (funnel-eared or long -legged bats) 
    • Family Furipteridae (smoky or thumbless bats)
    • Family Thyropteridae (disc-winged bats)
  • Rodent Order : Includes rats, mice, squirrels, gerbils, hamsters,  beavers, lemmings, guinea pigs, porcupines, chinchillas, hutias and more. 
    • Species: 
    • Species: 
    • Species:
  • Xenarthra Order
    • Armadillo Family: 
    • Anteater Family: 
    • Sloth Family:  

Invertebrates 

    Insects

• Butterflies and Moth: Ulysses Butterfly, Zodiac Moth, Union Jack Butterfly, Regent Skipper, Birdwing Butterfly
• Beetles
• Grasshoppers, Crickets, Ants, 

    Spiders

  Southeast Asia and Southern India

Vertebrates

Fish

Amphibians

• Caudata Order: Salamanders and newts

• Anura Order:  Frogs and toads

  • Wallace's Flying Frog (Sumatra and Borneo)

 Reptiles

•  Snakes : Indian python, Paradise tree snake, Indian cobra
• Lizards: 
• Turtles
• Crocodilians: Saltwater Crocodile

Birds

• Game birds and ground birds : Indian Peafowl, Temminck's Tragopan, Red Junglefowl, 

• Water and shore birds : 

• Birds of prey :  

• Tree and air birds :  Great pied hornbill

  • Parrots: 

• Song birds : Nightingale, Red-whiskered bulbul, Garnet Pitta, Crimson Sunbird, Cardinal Honeyeater

• tree swift, leafbird, fairy bluebird, fantail, whistler, flowerpecker, wood swallow.

• Mammals : Subclass
  • Monotremes
  • Marsupials
  • Placentals
  • Carnivore Order (cats, dogs, musk-smelling mammals)
    • Cat family : 
    • Bear family:
      • Red Panda
      • Giant Panda
      • Sun Bear
    • Mustelid family : 
    • Procyonid family : 
  • Artiodactyl Order: (Even-toed hoofed mammals)
    • Suids (Pigs)
      • Bearded pig
    • Hippopotamus Family 
  • Perissodactyl Order: (Odd-toed hoofed mammals)
    • Horse family
    • Tapir family
      • Malayan Tapir
    • Rhinoceros family
      • Sumatran Rhinoceros
  • Primate Order (Monkeys, apes, humans)
    • Lemur Family  
    • Tarsiide Family 
      • Western Tarsier    
    • Old World Monkey Family
      • Japanese Macaque (Snow Monkey) 
      • Proboscis Monkey
    • Hominids
      • Orangutan
      • Siamang 
      • Lar Gibbon
  • Chiroptera Order (Bats)
    • Family Fruit Bats: 
      • Greater Fruit Bat
    • Family Emballonuridae (sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats) 
    • Family Megadermatidae (false vampire bats) - 
    • Family Noctilionidae (bull-dog or mastiff bats) - 
    • Family Mormoopidae (naked-backed bats) - 
    • Family Phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats)   
    • Family Natalidae (funnel-eared or long -legged bats) 
    • Family Furipteridae (smoky or thumbless bats)
    • Family Thyropteridae (disc-winged bats)
  • Rodent Order : Includes rats, mice, squirrels, gerbils, hamsters,  beavers, lemmings, guinea pigs, porcupines, chinchillas, hutias and more. 
    • Species: India striped palm squirrel
    • Species: Bamboo rat
  • Xenarthra Order
    • Armadillo Family: 
    • Anteater Family: 
    • Sloth Family:  
  • Scandentia Order
    • Tree Shrew (Common Tree Shrew) 
  • Dermoptera
    • Colugo 

    Invertebrates 

    Insects

• Butterflies and Moth: Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly Goliath Birdwing Butterfly, Saturn Butterfly
• Beetles
• Grasshoppers, Crickets, Ants, 

    Spiders

• Mammals: tarsier, orangutan, Siamang, gibbon,  tiger, tree shrew, binturong, moonrat, flying fox, colugo, bamboo rat, Oriental dormouse.
• Birds: 

West Africa and Madagascar

Vertebrates

Fish

Amphibians

• Caudata Order: Salamanders and newts

• Anura Order:  Frogs and toads

  • Natal Ghost Frog

  •  

• Caecilian: 

 Reptiles

•  Snakes : Gaboon Viper
• Lizards: Leaf-tailed Gecko
• Turtles: Schweigger's Hingeback Tortoise

Birds

• Game birds and ground birds : Congo Peafowl

• Water and shore birds : 

• Birds of prey :  

• Tree and air birds :  Double-toothed barbet, Bee-eater, Red-crested touraco

  • Parrots: African gray parrot 

• Song birds: Red-billed Quelea, Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird, Yellow-throated Longclaw

• Mammals : Subclass
  • Monotremes
  • Marsupials
  • Placentals
  • Carnivore Order (cats, dogs, musk-smelling mammals)
    • Cat family : 
      • Leopard
    • Mustelid family : 
    • Herpestid family: 
      • Marsh Mongoose
      • Meerkat
    • Viverridae family
      • African Palm Civet
  • Artiodactyl Order: (Even-toed hoofed mammals)
    • Suid (Pig) Family
      • Wild boar
    • Hippopotamus Family  
      • Pygmy Hippopotamus
    • Tragulidae Family
      • Water Chevrotain
    • Bovidae Family
      • Bongo
    • Giraffidae
      • Okapi
  • Perissodactyl Order: (Odd-toed hoofed mammals)
    • Horse family
    • Tapir family
    • Rhinoceros family
      • Black Rhinoceros
  • Proboscidea Order
    • African Elephant
  • Primate Order (Monkeys, apes, humans)
    • Lemur Family
      • Ring-tailed Lemur
    • Old World Monkey Family
      • Red Colobus
      • Allen's Swamp Monkey 
      • Mandrill
      • Diana Monkey
  • Hominid Family:
    •  Bonobo, 
    •  Chimpanzee
    •  Gorilla
• Chiroptera Order (Bats)
  • Family Emballonuridae (sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats) 
  • Family Megadermatidae (false vampire bats) - 
  • Family Noctilionidae (bull-dog or mastiff bats) - 
  • Family Mormoopidae (naked-backed bats) - 
  • Family Phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats)   
  • Family Natalidae (funnel-eared or long -legged bats) 
  • Family Furipteridae (smoky or thumbless bats)
  • Family Thyropteridae (disc-winged bats)
• Rodent Order : Includes rats, mice, squirrels, gerbils, hamsters,  beavers, lemmings, guinea pigs, porcupines, chinchillas, hutias and more. 
  • Species: Crested porcupine
  • Species: 
  • Species:
• Xenarthra Order
  • Armadillo Family: 
  • Anteater Family: 
  • Sloth Family:  
• Tubilidentate Order
  • Aardvark 
• Pholidote Order
  • Giant Pangolin
• Insectivore Order
  • Armored Shrew

Invertebrates 

    Insects

• Butterflies and Moth
• Beetles
• Grasshoppers, Crickets, Ants, 

    Spiders

• Mammals: antelope,  scaly-tailed squirrel, otter shrew, duikers, pangolin,  okapi, hippopotamus, Cercopithecus monkeys, bushbabies, pygmy hippo)
• Birds: Congo peafowl, 
• Tarsier, Orangutan, Siamang, Gibbon, colobine

Click on an animal or other rainforest topic for a printout or information on that animal.