Strangest Rainforest Species – Rainforest Trust

Biological diversity (biodiversity) describes the range and variation of all life on Earth. Biodiversity can be measured by the number of species, gene variation, or the diversity of entire ecosystems, including rainforest habitat.

Rainforests around the world harbor an incredible degree of biodiversity, including a number of weird and wonderful plant and animal species.

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1. Satanic Leaf Gecko
(Fantastic Uroplatus)

Leaf-tailed geckos live in the humid forests of Madagascar and nearby islands. The Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko is common

mottled brown with a flat, leaf-like tail that looks like a rotting leaf, providing camouflage. Geckos do not have eyelids, but a transparent membrane that covers their eyes. To wipe away debris or dust that irritates their eyes, they usually use their long tongue.

Solitary creatures, these geckos rely on their natural camouflage to go unnoticed during the day and at night when they move around to feed on insects and other prey. These animals are carnivores, known to eat a wide range of insects, as well as small rodents or the occasional reptile.

Leaf geckos are well adapted to avoid predators, not only because of their physical resemblance to a dead leaf, but also through their behavior: flattening their bodies to reduce their shadow, or opening their jaws to show a menacing, bright red mouth.

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2. Glass frog

Did you know that some frogs are visible? Glass frogs have a transparent bottom. If you take a glass frog and look at their abdomen or chest, you can clearly see their heart pumping blood into their arteries or food moving through their digestive tract. This physical characteristic is actually a form of camouflage. When viewed from below, the edges of the frog blend with its surroundings, a phenomenon called edge diffusion.

Glass frogs are found in lowland and montane tropical forests, mainly in Central and South America. These reptiles are very territorial and use specific noises and calls to establish a new territory or defend an established area.

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3. Bullet Ant

The Bullet Ant is a species of predatory ant known for its incredibly painful sting. Although not fatal, the bite can cause severe pain and swelling, and is considered one of the most painful insect bites in the world. The physical sensation has been compared to a gunshot, leading to the common name Bullet Ant.

Bull ants nest in colonies of nearly 3,000 individuals in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. These insects feed mainly at night or dusk, and the food or water collected is returned to the nests for the larvae and mature adults. Like many species of ants, Lead Ants use pheromones to tell other members of the colony where to find a food source and then follow the trail back to their nest.

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4. Slow loris

Fluffy and cute, toxic, poisonous and potentially deadly. The slow loris is a large-eyed nocturnal primate found in the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia.

Omnivorous, the slow loris consumes small birds, reptiles, insects, fruit, nectar and gum. They have a long, narrow tongue to draw nectar from inside flowers.

On the inner, upper arm, the Slow Loris has a brachial gland that secretes pungent, noxious oil. When they feel threatened, these mammals raise their wings and lick this gland. The secreted oil, when mixed with their saliva, produces a poisonous solution. If the slow loris bites another animal, the poison enters the blood of their victim. This bite is painful and can cause swelling, heart irregularities, anaphylactic shock or even death.

The slow loris plays an important role in their ecosystem. They are pollinators, transferring pollen between flowers when they drink nectar from individual plants. They eat and digest the fruit, spreading the seeds in their feces. They are also prey for snakes, hawk eagles and occasionally orangutans.

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5. Corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum)

The corpse flower is one of the largest flower species, growing over 8 feet tall and blooming for only one to three days each year. This flower does not have a predictable flowering cycle, instead it only blooms when enough energy is stored. The time between flowering can vary from several years to several decades, depending on environmental conditions such as daylight, temperature and humidity.

When the corpse flower blooms, the plant emits a horrible smell, the source of its name.

Native to the rainforests of Sumatra in Indonesia, the Corpse Flower is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and it is estimated that fewer than 1,000 individual flowers remain in the wild.

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6. Monkey cups

Monkey cups or Nepenthes are a carnivorous plant species native to Australia and Southeast Asia. These plants form colorful pitchers that act as a trap to catch prey. Collected water and a scent of nectar helps attract insects to plant pitchers. Once inside the structure, the insect's movement stimulates digestive glands in the plant that release a digestive acid. This acid is strong enough to digest small insects within hours, and some species of monkey gourd have even been known to capture and digest mice or rats whole.

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7. Jabuticaba tree

The Jabuticaba tree is a tropical shrub native to Bolivia and Brazil. The most defining characteristic of this plant is the large dark purple fruit that grows directly from its trunk in clusters.

The flesh of the fruit is sweet, jelly-like, with a unique flavor that is often compared to grapes or strawberries.

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8. Potoo bird

Potoos, often called Ghost Birds, are species of nocturnal birds native to tropical regions in the Americas.

During daylight hours they usually sleep, sitting on tree branches. Interesting patterns of black, gray or brown feathers act as camouflage, so they resemble the bark of a tree.

At dusk, they become active and use the night hours to search for food. Potoos have large eyes to help them spot moths and other flying insects in the near darkness. They also have large, gaping mouths to catch their prey at night as they fly silently. These features are very striking in dim lighting, giving them a ghostly appearance.

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