Daintree Rainforest
By Matt Fisher 5/6C
Location
Wildlife
In the Daintree Rainforest there are lots of different animals including the endangered Cassowary, the White-lipped tree frog, Ulysses butterfly, pigeon, dove, parrot, lorikeet, cuckoo, wren, flying fox, wallaby, platypus, turtle, skink, snake and python.
Rainbow Skink: Native to Australia, 3-4cm long from nose to hind legs excluding the tail. They are brown or grey brown with a dark brown stripedown each side and a rainbow or metallic sheen when seen in bright light.
Tree Frog: Eats spiders, crickets, lizards, other frogs and small mice. The males are smaller in size and less robust than the females.
Cassowary: Flightless bird closely related to the Emu. This bird is a very endangered species, it is also the World's 3rd largest bird.
Kingfisher: Scientific name: Alcedo Atthis, size 16-17cm, Weight 40g, Wingspan 44-26cm, lifespan 2 years.
Plants
The plants in the Daintree Rainforest are very beautiful and are a big attraction to tourists. Some of them include the Fan Palm, the Fish Tail Palm, the Native Hibiscus and the Selaginella.
Fan Palm: The name comes from it's appearance and it's pleated leaf segments. It is particulary slow growing although a single trunk can grow up to 20 metres in height.
Fish Tail Palm: Known for it's large compound leaves, which can measure more than 8 feet long. Height 15-70 feet tall, width 10-35 feet wide.
Native Hibiscus: also known as the "Lilac Hibiscus," it's botanic name is "Alyogyne Huegelii," fast growing, it's medium height of 2-3cm by 1-5cm wide. It is a bird attractive plant, it may be difficult to find.
Selaginella- Desert plant, can be revived with little water, it was once used as a herbal medicine.