ecosystem-guides.com
....exploring the planet's ecosystems
The lowland rainforest of the Neotropics spreads across a huge geographical area, but can be seperated into a few broad areas. The majority and most well known is centred around the massive Amazonian basin. There is another area of rainforest on the Atlantic coast.
There is also a huge diversity of beautiful species in the rainforests across the tropical Americas. The biggest and showiest butterflies are the Swallowtails of the family Papilionidae.
Toucans are medium to large sized birds, always with large bills and bright colours.
Tanagers are one of the most colourful and diverse group of birds in the Neotropical jungle. They are the second largest family of birds, with over 200 species. Many are colourful, and most are distinct enough to be easily recognisable. All the species in the Tanager are restricted to the Neotropics; many have small distributions.
The smallest primates are the Marmosets and Tamarins. They scamper about in cooperative polyandrous groups, with one central reproductively active female, who breeds with multiple males. They are reported to produce mostly twins at birth. They are only found in the Neotropics of South and Central America.
Atlantic rainforest can be appreciated in the biggest country in South America, Brazil, at the scenic Iguazu Falls.