Tropical Rainforests

The Forests of the Sachamama range widely in the humid tropical forests of the New World.  We will visit two basic types, the Tropical Evergreen Forest and Tropical Rainforest.

The magnificent jaguar, known in the Peruvian Amazon as 'Otorongo', is an icon for neotropical wilderness...

As with dry tropical forests, the distinctions among the habitats are based chiefly on annual rainfall, storm patterns, and soil characteristics.
The hallmark of the tropics is rainforest.  The Amazon rainforest is well-known throughout the world for its incredible biological diversity.

Amazonian rainforest communities can be loosely distinguished as either seasonally-flooded forest or high forest (tierra firma).



In the equatorial tropics of South America, species DIVERSITY generally exceeds species DENSITY in any given area.
 This means that we are more likely to find a variety of different species than we are likely to find lots of individuals of the same.


Green iguana (Iguana iguana)

Known as "chamaleon" in the Peruvian Amazon, the green iguana is commonly seen along rivers where it often rests
warily on overhanging branches.

Reticulated poison dart frog (Dendrobates reticulatus) These tiny brightly colored  terrestrial frogs are active in the daytime, their colors warning would-be predators of their toxic qualities. Many dartfrogs reproduce on land, the males carrying two or three tadpoles on their back until they undergo metamorphosis.

Mata mata turtle (Chelys fimbriatus) The primitive mata mata is a denizen of slow moving, black-water streams where it lies quietly in wait for passing fish. Its leaf-shaped head and muddy brown color render it well-camoflaged in the leaf-strewn stream habitat. the long snorkle-like nose allows it to breathe easily without exposing its head at the surface of the water

This is possible because the vast range of ecological niches in a stable moist climate provide the stage for dynamic evolutionary processes of adaptation and survival.

Click the frog to go deeper into the rainforest...

Selected Bibliography About the Amazon




El Tigre Journeys
to the Peruvian Amazon