The Daintree Rainforest

The Daintree Rainforest, one of the oldest rainforests in the world, is part of the Wet Tropics of North Queensland, Australia. This 1200 square kilometer, or approximately 500 square mile, rainforest is home to 3000 plant species. This region “contains 30 percent of Australia's frog, marsupial and reptile species, 65 percent of Australia's bat and butterfly species and 20 percent of the bird species,” according to the Daintree Discovery Center, the rainforest’s interpretive facility. Of these, 700 plants and 70 animals exist only in northeast Queensland and nowhere else in the world.

reference 1

http://www.daintree-rec.com.au/daintree.html

Mammals

Mammals found nowhere else in the world live in the Daintree Rainforest. The Musky Rat Kangaroo is a tiny marsupial that feeds on insects, other invertebrates and fallen fruits it finds amidst the leaf litter on the rainforest floor. It also climbs in the undergrowth and uses its scaly, prehensile tail to carry nesting material.

The Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo, endemic to the Daintree Rainforest, is one of the Tree Kangaroos that feed and sleep in the trees, and occasionally flee across the forest floor if frightened.

The Daintree River ringtail possum is a slow-moving, nocturnal leaf-eater that lives in the forest canopy.

This region is home to 34 species of bats, including flying foxes, tube-nosed bats and blossom bats. Bats pollinate flowers and disperse fruit from many rainforest trees and plants, and they are essential for the forest's survival, according to the Australian Rainforest Foundation.

Two rodents, a melomys, which is a kind of rat and an antechinus, a mouse-like creature, also live in the Daintree Rainforest.

reference 2

http://www.arf.net.au/daintre...

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Mangrove forests along the mouth of the creeks and rivers have the highest species diversity of any estuarine habitat in Australia

The most common forests in the Daintree are mesophyll and complex mesophyll vine forests, which have plants with large leaves and a large variety of life forms, such as orchids, ferns, buttressed tree roots and multiple layers of vegetation.

A very rare and unusual plant, Austrobaileya scandens, is found only in the Daintree rainforest. It is the oldest flowering plant in Australia that requires pollination. It evolved before butterflies and bees, so its waxy flowers that release a rotting fish smell attract beetles that serve as pollinators.

Fan Palm forests are another unique plant community of the Daintree. The fan palm’s flexible stems are able to withstand cyclones, and its large palm fronds fold up in strong winds.