ARK Guidebook

Amazon Rainforest flora and fauna guide

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The Amazon The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest intact forest. It’s home to more than 24 million people in Brazil alone, including hundreds of thousands of Indigenous Peoples belonging to 180 different groups. There’s a reason the Amazon was the place that inspired scientists to coin the term “biodiversity.” The region is home to 10 percent of all plant and animal species known on Earth. In addition to its unparalleled diversity of life, the Amazon plays an essential role in helping to control the entire planet’s atmospheric carbon levels. The Amazon Basin stores approximately 100 billion metric tons of carbon, more than ten times the annual global emissions from fossil fuels.

While it covers 2.6 million square miles across nine countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana), about 60 percent of the Amazon Basin is in Brazil. In the last 40 years, the Brazilian Amazon lost more than 18 percent of its rainforest — an area about the size of California — to illegal logging, soy plantations, and cattle ranching. Most of the remaining forest is under threat, and with it the plants, animals, and people who depend on the forest to survive.

Around the world, people like you have stepped up to achieve policy reform, additional protected areas, and commitments from corporations that have slowed the rate of deforestation.

Still, forest areas the size of entire cities are cleared in the Brazilian Amazon every year and “burning season” fires have returned at record-breaking levels.

Why Help?

Currently, the Amazon is a carbon sink, meaning it stores carbon dioxide and prevents it from entering the atmosphere and fueling climate change. Deforestation, on the other hand, releases that carbon into the air, making global warming worse. Because of this, deforestation accounts for about 10 to 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Losing the Amazon means more carbon emissions and a warmer world. No matter how far from the region you live, the Amazon plays an important role in all of our lives, and we all play a role in protecting the homes of thousands of people and some of the world’s rarest wildlife.

427 mammals

1,300 birds

378 reptiles

400 amphibians

3,000 fish

Animals of the

Amazon

Mammals A mammal is an animal that breathes air, has a backbone, and grows hair at some point during its life. In addition, all female mammals have glands that can produce milk. Mammals are among the most intelligent of all living creatures. Mammals include a wide variety of animals, from cats to humans to whales. There are about 5,000 species, or kinds, of living mammal.

Coati White-nosed coatis are small mammals, related to the raccoon. They have strong claws and long, highly mobile snouts well adapted for foraging in crevices and holes for food.

Their thick, semi-prehensile tails are used for balance and often held erect above the body.

White-nosed coatis are reddish brown to black with lighter underparts. The coati’s face has black and gray markings with a white spot above and below each eye, on each cheek and around the end of the muzzle. The tail is banded with black rings. The coati’s long, highly mobile snout is well adapted to investigating Diet: Omnivorous Lifespan: 14 years in captivity Size: 3.5 ft, 10 pounds

crevices and holes, and they have strong claws for digging.

Coatis eat fruit, invertebrates, small rodents and lizards. They forage for food on the ground and occasionally in trees.

Coatis have been called “coatimundi” or “coati-mondi” meaning “lone coati” in Guarani, a native language of Brazil. The name came about as a result of biologists describing solitary male coatis that they believed at the time to be a separate species.

Find Me! Look on the ground around trees or bushes to find me scavenging for food.

Kinkajou Kinkajous live in the tropical forests of Central and South America, where they spend most of their time in the trees. They are able to turn their feet backwards to run easily in either direction along branches or up and down trunks.

The kinkajou also has a prehensile (gripping) tail that it uses much like another arm. Kinkajous often hang from this incredible tail, which also aids their balance and serves as a cozy blanket while the animal sleeps high in the canopy.

Though many of its features and traits sound Diet: Omnivorous Lifespan: 40 years Size: 20 in., 7 pounds

like those of a primate, the kinkajou is actually related to the raccoon.

Kinkajous are sometimes called honey bears because they raid bees’ nests. They use their long, skinny tongues to slurp honey from a hive, and also to remove insects like termites from their nests. Kinkajous also eat fruit and small mammals, which they snare with their nimble front paws and sharp claws. They roam and eat at night, and return each morning to sleep in previously used tree holes.

Check out the trees to find me sleeping during the day, or scurrying around at night.

Pygmy Marmoset Marmosets and their cousins, the tamarins, are some of the tiniest primates around. A fullgrown pygmy marmoset could fit in an adult human’s hand, and it weighs about as much as a stick of butter. But there is nothing tiny about a pygmy marmoset’s tail: it’s longer than its body! The tail is not prehensile, but it helps the little monkey keep its balance as it gallops through the treetops.

Both male and female pygmy marmosets are orange-brown. Each hair has stripes of brown and black, called agouti coloring. This Diet: Omnivorous Lifespan: 12-18 years Size: 5 in., 3-5 ounces

coloration gives them good camouflage. A mane of hair covers the pygmy marmoset’s ears. Most primates have flat nails on the ends of their fingers, along with opposable thumbs that allow them to grasp objects.

Pygmy marmoset fingernails are like claws to help them climb up and down tree trunks.

They do not have opposable thumbs.

Look up the the trees to find me jumping about, from branch to branch.

Birds From pigeons in big cities to penguins in Antarctica, all birds have similar features.

They all have wings, though they cannot all fly. All birds also have feathers. In fact, birds are the only living animals that have feathers.

Chestnut Eared Aracari The Chestnut-eared Aracari is a medium-sized toucan of the Amazon Basin of South America, especially the southern and western parts of the basin. It can be very common in its range and has the widest distribution of any of the aracaris. Chestnut-eared Aracari is primarily frugivorous but also feeds on invertebrates. It is an attractively patterned species with a large yellow and black bill, a pale eye surrounded by blue facial skin, dark upperparts, and a yellow belly divided by a red band.

The Chestnut-eared Aracari has yellow unDiet: Nuts and bugs Lifespan: 18 years Size: 17 in.

derparts, with a single red band across the chest. The head is black; the throat, ear coverts (feathers covering the ears) and collar are chestnut brown but appearing black at a distance. It has a red rump.

The bill is mostly dark-brown or black with a yellow tip and stripe along the bottom of the upper bill. The irises are white or yellow. The bare skin around the eyes varies from dark turquoise to grey.

Check out the trees or find me hopping along the ground for food.

Green Hermit A relatively large hummingbird, the Green Hermit is found in humid forests and forest edges, small clearings, secondary growth, shrubbery, and plantations with dense vegetation. This species has elongated, white-tipped central tail rectrices, which are prominently featured in displays at communal leks during the breeding season while males energetically compete for territories. There are currently four described subspecies of the Green Hermit.

Phaethornis hermits are small to mediumsized hummingbirds with dull colored plumage.

Diet: Nectar Lifespan: 3-5 years Size: 13 cm

All species of Phaethornis have very long, slender bills, which in many species are slightly curved, and also have long, graduated tails in which the central pair rectrices usually are particularly elongated. Green Hermit, also known as Guy’s Hermit, is a large Phaethornis with a slightly decurved bill and elongated, white-tipped central rectrices. The plumage is predominantly dark blue green, with gray underparts tawny markings on the face and throat.

Look carefully for me around flowers and feeding stations.

Hyacinth Macaw Hyacinth macaws are one of the largest species of parrot. They are beautiful, smart, and can even mimic human speech.

Few birds are as instantly recognizable as the aptly named Hyacinth Macaw. With their bright blue feathers, yellow-ringed eyes and mischievous grins, they are the class clowns of the parrot world.

These intelligent, social birds gather in flocks of up to 30 individuals, using their loud squawks and screams to keep in touch with

Diet: Herbivore Lifespan: 50 years Size: 40 in.

each other in the dense rainforest canopy.

They travel long distances daily in search of the various nuts and fruit that make up their diet. Hyacinth Macaws boast large, powerful beaks that can crack into even the hardest nuts, giving them access to a food sources few other animals can exploit. Macaws are also sometimes seen eating damp clay off open cliff faces, perhaps to neutralize noxious chemicals from the fruits and nuts they eat.

Find me perched up in the trees.

Yellow-Headed Amazon The most obvious features of this predominantly green parrot are its yellow head and the red patch, or speculum, on each wing. Young birds lack these distinctive yellow and red markings, which become more prominent with age.

The stout, hooked beak is used not only for cracking nuts and seeds, but also for grasping, exploring and climbing. The feet, with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward, are highly adapted for grasping.

In the wild, yellow-headed Amazons con-

Diet: Herbivore Lifespan: 80 years Size: 15 in.

sume fruits, nuts, berries, blossoms and leaf buds. They are also known to raid agricultural crops, such as maize.

Yellow-headed Parrot inhabits tropical deciduous forest and other lowland wooded areas. This species is considered to be a good “talker�. Consequently Yellow-headed Parrot is highly threatened by capture for the pet trade, and is now very scarce in most parts of its native range.

Find me perched up in the trees.

Reptiles Reptiles are air-breathing vertebrates covered in special skin made up of scales, bony plates, or a combination of both. All regularly shed the outer layer of their skin. Their metabolism depends on the temperature of their environment, so they must move in and out of the sun as needed to stay warm.

Banded Tree Anole A small nocturnal species of anole, the banded tree anole is one of the more striking, and sports a long tail.

More than 380 species of anole lizard have been cataloged. All of these lizards originate from the Caribbean islands except the green anole, which is the only species native to the United States. Although hundreds of anole species have been identified, only seven are commonly found in the herpetological pet trade.

Anoles are small lizards that primarily eat Diet: Invertibrates Lifespan: 3-5 years Size: 3-4 in.

insects. They have pointed snouts and thin limbs. Most anoles are arboreal, spending the majority of their time on tree trunks or in the canopies. Terrestrial species are called grass anoles. They live in tropic or subtropic climes. Anoles are generally a shade of brown or green. Many anoles have the ability to alter their skin color. Male anoles have distensible throat fans that they can display as part of mating rituals. Each anole species has distinct throat fan colors and markings.

Find me sleeping on branches or the undersides of leaves.

Cane Toad The venomous cane toads earned their bad reputation shortly after being released into the Australian ecology in 1935 with the hope that they would control the destructive cane beetle population. They turned out to be failures at controlling beetles, but remarkably successful at reproducing and spreading themselves.

Cane toads are large, stocky amphibians with dry, warty skin, and are native to the southern United States, Central America, and tropical South America. Their numbers are manageable in their natural range, but they Diet: Omnivore Lifespan: 5-10 years Size: 4-6 in.

have thrived in Australia because there are few natural predators, they breed easily, and they have abundant food.

Cane toad poison is a mix of toxins that primarily affects the functioning of the heart.

It is present throughout their bodies and is secreted as a milky liquid from the parotoid glands located over the toad’s shoulders.

Envenomation is painful, but rarely deadly to humans, although some people have died from eating cane toads and even their eggs.

Find me hiding in the grass or around the trunks of trees.

Green Iguana In contrast to the majority of iguana species, the Common Green Iguana has colonized humid tropical rainforests and can be exclusively arboreal, descending to the ground principally for nesting. However, in this habitat, iguanas never venture far from the edge of continuous forests, occupying the margins of rivers, lakes, or natural or artificial clearings.

Primarily herbivores, iguanas are active during the day, feeding on leaves, flowers, and fruit. They generally live near water and are excellent swimmers. If threatened, they will leap Diet: Herbivore Lifespan: 20 years Size: 6.5 ft.

from a branch, often from great heights, and escape with a splash to the water below. They are also tough enough to land on solid ground from as high as 40 feet and survive.

Iguanas’ stout build gives them a clumsy look, but they are fast and agile on land. They have strong jaws with razor-sharp teeth and sharp tails, which make up half their body length and can be used as whips to drive off predators. They can also detach their tails if caught and will grow another without permanent damage.

Find me perched in tall vegitation.

Helmeted Iguana The Helmeted Iguana is also sometimes referred to as the Forest Chameleon. They are members of Corytophanidae, a family that also includes Basilisks and other Helmeted Lizards. The helmet name comes from the fact that these little guys have a huge helmet-like crest that extends from the back of their heads down over their necks. They also have a much lower crest that extends down their back.

Males have larger helmets than females.

Helmeted Iguanas can be found in tropical

Diet: Invertibrates Lifespan: 5-7 years Size: 14 in.

rainforests ranging from Mexico down to Colombia. Their long limbs and grasping toes allow them to be excellent climbers.

One interesting feature to the Helmeted Iguana is that it can change color (hence the Forest Chameleon Name). They really can only shift from greens to browns, but that is enough to allow them some camouflage while out basking in the sun, or while hunting for insects.

Find me in lower tree branches or hiding in bushes.

Turnip-Tailed Gecko This species of gecko is widely distributed from Mexico southward through Central America and into South America as far south as Brazil, and on many islands in the Lesser Antilles.

It is a large gecko, reaching a length of 12 cm from snout-to-vent. Its colour varies from pale to dark gray to deep orange, and has a blue tongue. Individuals can also change colour.

It can vocalize a series of chirps, which it mainly does while active at night. Its name comes from its swollen tail, which is used to store fat.

It also waves its tail as a sign of aggression, Diet: Invertibrates Lifespan: 3-5 years Size: 12 cm

and can shed its tail to distract predators.

Primarily nocturnal, this arboreal gecko occurs in primary and secondary wet, moist, and dry forests in trees up to 20 meters. It may be found in open areas with scattered trees, or on man-made structures adjacent to forests. In the daytime, this gecko may be found under dead palm fronds, bark crevices, or in vine tangles.

It has been observed when sleeping, in a coiled position, possibly mimicking (and looking quite like) a small viper.

Find me under leaves, or in the bark of a tree.

Yellow-Footed Tortoise The largest tortoise on the mainland of South America, this tortoise is named after the large yellow or orange scales that cover the front of each forelimb. The elongated carapace, or upper shell, of the South American yellow-footed tortoise is brown, with yellowish or orange tones in the centre of each scute.

The well developed shell on the underside of the tortoise, the plastron, is yellowish-brown, with darker colouring at the edges of the scutes. Thin, leathery, yellow to orange scales cover the head of the tortoise, and it has a Diet: Omnivore Lifespan: 50 years Size: 18 in.

slightly hooked upper jaw.

The South American yellow-footed tortoise is an omnivorous reptile, which feeds on a variety of leaves, vines, roots, bark, fruits and flowers, as well as fungi, insects and snails, and the rotting flesh of dead animals such as deer, armadillos, porcupines and snakes.

Bizarrely, soil, sand and pebbles are also consumed; these abrasive objects presumably assist the digestion of foods, as this tortoise has a tendency to swallow foods whole.

Find me meandering through the grasses.

Yellow-Spotted River Turtle The yellow-spotted turtle has a domed and dark colored shell. They have yellowish-orange head markings. There is usually a single barbel on the chin. These side-necked turtles cannot retract their head into their shell. Hatchlings have very obvious yellow spots on their heads, which shrink as they grow. Males keep some of the yellow spotting; females lose their spots altogether. These turtles spend time basking along the riverbanks and in the calm waters of big rivers and streams. They avoid fast-moving

Diet: Omnivorous Lifespan: 30 years Size: 20 in.

waters.

They are omnivorous, feeding on both vegetation and small animals. They have also been known to occasionally use an inertial feeding mechanism to extract fine particulate matter from the water surface.

They are considered vulnerable due to hunting, but the indigenous Yekuana Indians, who eat these turtles and their eggs, are now trying to hunt the turtles sustainably.

Find me in or along the sides of the river.

Amphibians The word amphibian means two-lives.

Amphibians spend their lives in the water and on land. All amphibians begin their life in water with gills and tails. As they grow, they develop lungs and legs for their life on land. Amphibians are coldblooded, which means that they are the same temperature as the air or water around them. There are more than 4,000 different kinds of amphibians. Members of this animal class are frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians or blindworms.

Dart Frogs Poison dart frogs, members of the Dendrobatidae family, wear some of the most brilliant and beautiful colors on Earth. Depending on individual habitats, which extend from the tropical forests of Costa Rica to Brazil, their coloring can be yellow, gold, copper, red, green, blue, or black. Their elaborate designs and hues are deliberately ostentatious to ward off potential predators, a tactic called aposematic coloration.

Scientists are unsure of the source of poison dart frogs’ toxicity, but it is possible they assimilate plant poisons which are carried by Diet: Insects Lifespan: 3-15 years Size: 1 in.

their prey, including ants, termites and beetles.

Poison dart frogs raised in captivity and isolated from insects in their native habitat never develop poison.

Find me hiding in the leaves.

Glass Frog The glass frog is one of those bizarre and fascinating creatures in this world. Upon looking down at this amphibian, the first thing you might notice is its soft lime-green color. But if you were to turn him over, a quick glance at his abdomen would catch your attention. The glass frog’s stomach is completely transparent!

Scientists believe that earlier frogs of this species evolved to have this trait for camouflage; while perched on a leaf or branch, they are extremely difficult to spot from a distance.

The glass frog is a nocturnal creature.

Diet: Herbivore Lifespan: 50 years Size: 2-8 cm..

During the day, it spends most of its time sleeping in the thick rain forest vegetation.

In the evening, however, they are very active, spending the majority of their time looking for food.

Another unique property the glass frog boasts is the position and shape of its eyes.

Commonly, they are confused with the tree frog; however, the glass frog’s eyes are forward-facing, while the tree frog’s eyes are positioned on the sides of its head.

Find me hiding in the leaves.

Invertibrates An invertebrate is a species of animal which does not have a backbone, such as spiders, insects, mollusks, lobsters and crabs. They are multicellular, but have no cell walls like other animals. It is estimated that as much as 97% of all animal species are invertebrate.

Dead Leaf Mantis This South American species of dead leaf mantids is very cryptic in every way. While young nymphs, they have incredibly long abdomens with multiple curves. Their eyes are pointed through all stages and the elbow joints are pointed forward instead of folded into the body. Adults are grayish in color and females take on brilliant abdomen colors underneath the wings. Males have long usable wings while females have long unusable wings.

They are smaller in comparison to other species.

Females grow up to 2 inches long while males Diet: Insects Lifespan: 6 months Size: 1.5 in.

are a bit smaller.

This species has an unusual degree of sexual dimorphism compared to other mantids. The male’s reduced wings can be lifted to reveal brightly colored warning colors on the abdomen, to scare away predators or intimidate other males. The male flies well and has long functional wings that resemble a flat or rolled-up dead leaf at rest. When perched, males often assume a posture which mimics the appearance of a shriveled dead leaf.

Find me hiding amongst leaves and branches of trees.

Rhinoceros Beetle Rhinoceros Beetles are among the largest of beetles in the world. Most are black, gray, or greenish in color, and some are covered in soft hairs. Another name given to some of these insects is the Hercules beetle, because they possess a strength of Herculean proportion. Adults of some species can lift objects 850 times their weight.

Rhino beetles reach 60 millimetres in length.

They have two horns, one on the top of the head and the other projecting forward from the middle of the thorax. Each horn is slightly Diet: Herbivore Lifespan: 3-6 months Size: 2.5 in.

forked at the end.

The male rhinoceros beetles use their horns in mating battles against other males. It can also use its horns to dig its way out of a sticky situation by burying itself underground, escaping danger.

In spite of their fierce appearance, they are all totally harmless. They cannot bite or sting or hurt you with their horns. In contrast, female rhino beetles have no horns, are quite plain, and less frequently seen.

Find me tucked under rocks and logs, or in vegitation.

Plants of the

Amazon

Aroid Aroid is the common name for members of the Araceae family of plants, sometimes known as the Philodendron or Arum family. The sometimes beautiful and sometimes bizarre combination of spathe and spadix known as the inflorescence, and sometimes referred to as a “flower�, is a distinguishing feature of all aroids.

Bromeliads Bromeliads are members of a plant family known as Bromeliaceae (bromeh-lee-AH-say-eye). The family contains over 3000 described species in approximately 56 genera. The most well known bromeliad is the pineapple. The family contains a wide range of plants including some very un-pineapple like members such as Spanish Moss (which is neither Spanish nor a moss). Other members resemble aloes or yuccas while still others look like green, leafy grasses.

These bromeliads are also epiphytes!

Epiphytes Some plants have evolved to the point that they simply do not need to grow on the forest floor. Instead, they live on other plants. Such plants are called epiphytes, and in lowland tropical rainforests they may represent up to one-fourth of all plant species.

Epiphytes encompass a wide range of plants: some ferns, orchids, cacti and mosses have the ability to live virtually in mid-air. They trap the little soil they need, which is carried by the wind, and this helps them develop roots and a litter base on tree branches.

Ferns Ferns are a very ancient family of plants; early fern fossils predate the beginning of the Mesozoic era, 360 million years ago. They are older than land animals and far older than the dinosaurs. As we know them now, most ferns are leafy plants that grow in moist areas under forest canopy. They are “vascular plants� with well-developed internal vein structures that promote the flow of water and nutrients. Unlike the other vascular plants which grow from seeds, ferns reproduce from spores.

Heliconia Heliconia, also popularly known as lobster-claw, wild plantain or false bird-of-paradise, is a beautiful flower with multi-color bracts and varied flower structure. Breathtaking and unusual flower heads (bracts) rise from clumps of banana like leaves, sometimes very large or slender.

Monkey Brush Vine The Monkey Brush vine is a vine that can grow as a parasite on other plants or trees and also by themselves. The most fascinating part of this plant is when it’s blossoming. The bright yellow and red flowers are decorative on the outside, with green in the interior. When in blossom the flower buds will slowly burst open giving this exotic vine its ‘monkey brush’ appearance.

Orchids Orchids are one of the largest genera of flowering plants, with about 30,000 species worldwide. Orchids vary widely in their appearance. Many have stunningly beautiful flowers with stripes and spots, while others are almost ugly with hairs and even warty bumps.

Passion Flower The passion flower was discovered by Spanish explorers in Peru. They believed the flowers symbolized Christ’s passion and indicated his approval for their exploration. It is found in many herbal products used as a sedative and some highly perfumed passion fruits are eaten as delicate dessert fruits.

Pitcher Plant Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants which catch prey in a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. Insects such as flies are attracted by the bright colors and nectar, and become trapped inside by the slippery sides of the leaf. Carnivorous plants occur in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and/or too acidic for most plants to be able to grow.

Rubber Tree The rubber tree replaced the rubber plant in the early 20th century as the chief source of natural rubber. It has soft wood, high, branching limbs, and a large area of bark. The milky liquid (latex) that oozes from any wound to the tree bark contains about 30% rubber, which can be concentrated and processed into solid products.

Vines A vine is any plant that requires support from other plants or objects, and reaches out with long tendrils. Some flower, while others just bear leaves.

Walking Palm The tree gets its name from it tall, spiny root system that may be upwards of five feet in height, appearing like multiple legs. While the tree obviously cannot move, the walking palm may lean toward a light filtering through a gap in the canopy, as the crown of the 50–60 foot high tree seeks light.

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