The rain forest is home to over 50% of all the animals in the world. There are millions of different species of animals in the world’s rain forests.

Butterfly

Some kinds of butterflies have special wing patterns that tell other animals that they are poisonous. Other edible butterflies try to copy this same pattern, allowing them to trick predators.

Chameleon

Chameleons are a kind of lizard that can change color as the light or temperature changes, or when it is scared.  The chameleon has a very long sticky tongue that darts out of its mouth to catch insects. Chameleons grow up to twenty-five inches long.

Gorilla

Gorilla’s live mostly in Zaire, and are very large. They can be up to 5′6″ tall and weigh 600 pounds, with an arm span of 9 feet. Gorilla’s have coarse black hair. Even though they are very gentle animals, their scary appearance makes them disliked, so they are portrayed as large (true), scary (false), and cruel (false).

Jaguar

Jaguars can climb trees and swim to catch their prey, but they are known for their fast running. The jaguar is large and orange with black or brown spots, but no stripes. It likes to hunt weaker animals, so it can win without a fight.

Macaw

Macaws are mainly blue and yellow and have strong hooked beaks. They have white faces and long, colorful tails. They can be up to 39 inches long. Macaws live in South America, and there are 11 species altogether.

SLOTH

There are two kind of sloths, and both are very shy and quiet. The two kinds are the three toed sloth and the two toed sloth. They are mammals and live for about ten years. Sloths stay up in trees most of the day, almost never coming down. They like to do things upside down, even sleep!

The Blue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho menelaus) is an iridescent blue butterfly that lives in rainforests of South and Central America, including Brazil, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.

Anatomy:The Blue Morpho Butterfly is a species of neotropical butterfly that has brilliant blue wings (the females are are not as brilliantly colored as the males and have a brown edge with white spots surrounding the iridescent blue area). The undersides (visible when the butterfly is resting) are brown with bronze-colored eyespots. The Blue Morpho has a wingspan of about 6 inches (15 cm). Adults drink the juices of rotting fruit using their straw-like proboscis.

The caterpillar of the Blue Morpho is red-brown with bright patches of lime-green on the back, and it eats the plant Erythroxylum pilchrum nocturnally (at night).

Classification:

Order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Family Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies), Genus Morpho, Species menelaus.

The list of extinct animals in Africa features the animals that have become extinct on the African continent and its islands, like Madagascar, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Réunion, Seychelles, St. Helena, Cape Verde, etc.

Pleistocene Extinctions

* African Deinotherium, Deinotherium bozasi
* homo erectus
* homo habilis
* Paranthropus boisei
* Pelorovis

Global Holocene Extinctions

Mammals
Quagga from London (UK), Regent’s Park ZOO, 1870
Quagga from London (UK), Regent’s Park ZOO, 1870

* North African Elephant, Loxodonta africana pharaoensis (300, North Africa)
* Algerian Wild Ass, Asinus atlanticus (300, North Africa)
* Bluebuck or Blue Antelope, Hippotragus leucophaeus (1799, South Africa)
* Atlas Bear, Ursus arctos crowtheri (1844, North Africa)
* Lesser Mascarene Flying Fox, Pteropus subniger (1862, Réunion)
* Quagga, Equus quagga quagga (1883, South Africa)
* Cape Warthog, Phacochoerus aethiopicus aethiopicus (1900, South Africa)
* North African Aurochs, Bos primigenius mauretanicus (Unknown date, North Africa)
* Bubal Hartebeest, Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus (North Africa)
* Cape Serval, Leptailurus serval serval (South Africa)
* Madagascan Dwarf Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus lemerlei (Madagascar)
* Madagascan Pygmy Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus madagascariensis (Madagascar)
* North African Serval, Leptailurus serval constantina (North Africa)
* Red Gazelle, Gazella rufina (Algeria)
* Robert’s Lechwe, Kobus leche robertsi (Zambia)
* Canary Islands Giant Rat, Canariomys tamarani (Canary Islands)
* Lava Mouse, Malpaisomys insularis (Canary Islands)

Birds
Dodo (Jan Savery, 1651)
Dodo (Jan Savery, 1651)

* Aldabra Brush-Warbler, Nesillas aldabrana (Seychelles)
* Aepyornis or Great Elephant Bird, Aepyornis maximus (Madagascar)
* Ascension Flightless Crake, Atlantisia elpenor (St Helena)
* Broad-billed Parrot, Lophopsittacus mauritianus (Mauritius)
* Delalande’s Coua, Coua delalandei (Madagascar)
* Dodo, Raphus cucullatus (Mauritius)
* Large St Helena Petrel, Pterodroma rupinarum (St Helena)
* Mauritius Blue Pigeon, Alectroenas nitidissima (Mauritius)
* Mascarene Coot, Fulica newtoni (Réunion, Mauritius)
* Mascarene Parrot, Mascarinus mascarinus (Réunion)
* Mauritian Duck, Anas theodori (Mauritius)
* Mauritian Shelduck, Alopochen mauritianus (Mauritius)
* Mauritius Grey Parrot, Lophopsittacus bensoni (Mauritius)
* Mauritius Night-Heron, Nycticorax mauritianus (Mauritius)
* Mauritius Owl, Mascarenotus sauzieri (Mauritius)
* Newton’s Parakeet, Psittacula exsul (Mauritius)
* Red Rail, Aphanapteryx bonasia (Mauritius)
* Réunion Flightless Ibis, Threskiornis solitarius (Réunion)
* Réunion Gallinule, Porphyrio coerulescens (Réunion)
* Réunion Kestrel, Falco buboisi (Réunion)
* Réunion Night-Heron, Nycticorax duboisi (Réunion)
* Réunion Owl, Mascarenotus grucheti (Réunion)
* Réunion Pigeon, Columba duboisi (Réunion)
* Réunion Shelduck, Mascarenachen kervazoi (Réunion)
* Réunion Starling, Fregilupus varius (Réunion)
* Rodrigues Night-Heron, Nycticorax megacephalus (Mauritius)
* Rodrigues Owl, Mascarenotus murivorus (Mauritius)
* Rodrigues Parrot, Necropsittacus rodericanus (Mauritius)
* Rodrigues Pigeon, Alectroenas rodericana (Mauritius)
* Rodrigues Rail, Aphanapteryx leguati (Mauritius)
* Rodrigues Solitaire, Pezophaps solitaria (Mauritius)
* Rodrigues Starling, Necropsar rodericanus (Mauritius)
* Seychelles Parakeet, Psittacula wardi (Seychelles)
* Small St Helena Petrel, Bulweria bifax (St Helena)
* St Helena Crake, Atlantisia podarces (St Helena)
* St Helena Cuckoo, Nannococcyx psix (St Helena)
* St Helena Dove, Dysmoropelia dekarchiskos (St Helena)
* St Helena Hoopoe, Upupa antaois (St Helena)
* St Helena Rail, Porzana astrictocarpus (St Helena)
* Tristan Moorhen, Gallinula nesiotis (St Helena)
* Canarian Black Oystercatcher, Haematopus meadewaldoi 1981 (Tenerife)
* Canary Islands Quail, Coturnix gomerae (Canary Islands)
* Eastern Canary Islands Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus canariensis exsul 1986 (Lanzarote, Fuerteventura)
* Madeiran Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus maderensis 1924 (Madeira)

Reptiles

* Cape Verde Giant Skink, Macroscincus coctei (Cape Verde)
* Eastwood’s Longtailed Seps, Tetradactylus eastwoodae (South Africa)
* Leiolopisma mauritiana (Mauritius)
* Saddle-backed Mauritius Giant Tortoise, Cylindraspis inepta (Mauritius)
* Domed Mauritius Giant Tortoise, Cylindraspis triserrata (Mauritius)
* Mozambique centipede-eater, Aparallactus nigriceps (Mozambique)
* Réunion Giant Tortoise, Cylindraspis indica (Réunion)
* Rodrigues Giant Gecko, Phelsuma gigas (Mauritius)
* Domed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise, Cylindraspis peltastes (Mauritius)
* Saddle-backed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise, Cylindraspis vosmaeri (Mauritius) 1795
* Round Island Burrowing Boa, Bolyeria multocarinata (Mauritius)
* Seychelles Black Terrapin, Pelusios seychellensis (Seychelles)
* Typhlops cariei (Mauritius)
* Rodrigues giant day gecko Phelsuma gigas (Mauritius)
* Rodrigues day gecko, Phelsuma edwardnewtoni 1917 (Mauritius)
* Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard, Gallotia simonyi simonyi 1935 (Canary Islands)
* La Palma Giant Lizard, Gallotia auaritae (La Palma, Canary Islands)

Fish

* Pantanodon madagascariensis (Madagascar)
* Ptychochromis onilahy (Madagascar)
* Ptychochromoides itasy (Madagascar)

Insects

* St. Helena Earwig, Labidura herculeana (1967 St. Helena)

Molluscs

* Caldwellia philyrina
* Chilonopsis blofeldi
* Chilonopsis exulatus
* Chilonopsis helena
* Chilonopsis melanoides
* Chilonopsis nonpareil
* Chilonopsis subplicatus
* Chilonopsis subtruncatus
* Chilonopsis turtoni
* Colparion madgei
* Ctenoglypta newtoni
* Cyclophorus horridulum
* Cyclosurus mariei
* Dupontia proletaria
* Erepta nevilli
* Gibbus lyonetianus
* Gonidomus newtoni
* Gonospira nevilli
* Gulella mayottensis
* Harmogenanina linophora
* Harmogenanina subdetecta
* Helenoconcha leptalea
* Helenoconcha minutissima
* Helenoconcha polyodon
* Helenoconcha pseustes
* Helenoconcha sexdentata
* Helenodiscus bilamellata
* Helenodiscus vernoni
* Nesopupa turtoni
* Omphalotropis plicosa
* Pachnodus velutinus
* Pachystyla rufozonata
* Pseudohelenoconcha spurca
* Pupilla obliquicosta
* Rhachis comorensis
* Rhachis sanguineus
* Tropidophora desmazuresi
* Tropidophora semilineata
* Unio cariei
* Leiostyla lamellosa (Land Snail from Madeira)
* Pseudocampylaea loweii (Land Snail from Madeira)

Rediscovered

* Burchell’s Zebra, Equus quagga burchellii
* Coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae
* Madagascar Pochard, Aythya innotata

Extinctions in the wild
Scimitar-Horned Oryx at the Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Scimitar-Horned Oryx at the Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

* Barbary Lion, Panthera leo leo, (North Africa)
* Egyptian Barbary Sheep, Ammotragus lervia ornata (Egypt)
* Cape Lion, Panthera leo melanochaitus (Cape of Africa)
* Haplochromis lividus (Freshwater fish from Lake Victoria; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda)
* Labrochromis ishmaeli (Freshwater fish from Lake Victoria; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda)
* Scimitar Oryx, Oryx dammah (Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Israel, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara)
* Paretroplus menarambo (Freshwater fish from Madagascar)
* Platytaeniodus degeni (Freshwater fish from Lake Victoria; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda)
* Prognathochromis perrieri (Freshwater fish from Lake Victoria; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda)
* Yssichromis argens (Freshwater fish from Lake Victoria; Tanzania)

Source: Wikipedia