Biodiversity - The variety of living organisms in a habitat.

The tropical rainforest is probably the most diverse habitat on Earth.  It is certainly home to a larger variety of living things than any other type of habitat anywhere on land.  Rainforests occur Latin America, central Africa, Southeast Asia and Northern Australia.  Each of these places has a unique fauna (animals) and flora (plants), and the varieties of different species is huge.

Almost every phylum is represented, from those of bacteria through to the so-called higher animals such as the vertibrates.  Thousands, if not millions of species inhabit the rainforest.  Most of these are small - even microscopic - organisms, including bacteria, fungi and algae.  From time to time, though, larger creatures and plants are discovered, which were previously unknown to science - the Sumatran Rhinoceros, for instance,  was only confirmed as existing  in ****.

New rainforest species are being identified and catalogued almost every day.  Many of the plants in particular, have potential as medicinal and even food products.  They could also offer commercial opportunities which would allow those who abuse the rainforest by destroying it, to make an alternative living that is in harmony with the forest.
 

For more, visit: Rainforest Biodiversity

© 1999 Satellite Events Enterprises Inc.