Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Flying squirrels belong to a different family and have unique adaptations for
their strictly arboreal life. They have large fur-covered flaps of skin between their
limbs that enables them to glide from treetop to treetop. Some flying squirrels have
been recorded gliding as much as 320 ft (100 m) without losing much height. They
are also excellent climbers. Flying squirrels are restricted to rainforests with tall,
old trees with holes where they can rest during the day. They bear a close resem-
blance to the flying squirrels of the Asian-Pacific rainforest.
Dormice are arboreal rodents that sleep during the day and climb through the
trees at night in search of seeds, nuts, fruit, and shoots. They are small rodents with
dense fur, long bushy tails, and front paws that are hand like. Although more com-
mon in the savannas, they are present in some forests.
Fewer mice and rats inhabit the African rainforest than are found in other
regions. They are thought to have arrived from Southeast Asia in the Pliocene
Epoch. By that time, the smaller primates and squirrels had already filled most
niches, so rats and mice in the African rainforest tend to be less specialized than in
other rainforests.
The brushtail porcupine is the only porcupine living in the African rainforest
and is the largest rodent in the forest, weighing around 2.2-8.8 lbs (1-4 kg) and
having a body length between 14.5 and 24 in (365 and 600 mm). They are noctur-
nal, roaming the forest floor at night. They are often hunted for their meat.
Hyraxes are large rodent-like animals with small ears, short legs, and no tails.
They live in the canopy and feed on vegetation. Hyraxes are most closely related to
elephants and manatees. Like elephants, their upper incisors form small tusks.
Primates of the African rainforest region range in size from the small bushbabies
(galagos) weighing less than 3.5 oz (100 g) to gorillas that can weigh 660 lbs (300
kg) or more. Primates are divided into two suborders: the prosimians and the
anthropoids or man-like apes. The prosimians are considered the more primitive
primates, yet some, like the lemurs, have evolved specialized characteristics. A typi-
cal African rainforest community has several prosimians, such as lorises, bushba-
bies, and pottos on the mainland, and lemurs in Madagascar. All tend to be
nocturnal and most are arboreal. Some rainforest communities also include anthro-
poids. These are catarrhines, distinct from the platyrrhine primates of the Neo-
tropics. Unlike their Neotropical cousins, catarrhine primates have a reduced
number of premolars, downward-facing nostrils, and flattened nails. Most have
nonprehensile tails. Catarrhine primates include Old World monkeys (Cercopithe-
coidea) and great apes (Hominoidea). The Old World monkeys are medium to large
in size and include macaques, guenons, vervets, Diana monkeys, colobus monkeys,
and baboons. Many spend their lives in the trees and seldom descend to the ground.
Colobus monkeys live high in the canopy and are able to leap great distances.
Different from most other Old World monkeys, colobus monkeys do not have
opposable thumbs. The black colobus monkey is one of Africa's most endangered
species. Deforestation, forest fragmentation, and hunting all contribute to the
steadily declining colobus populations.
