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Plants
Most common
forest types in the Daintree rainforest
are called mesophyll vine forest and
complex mesophyll vine forests. ‘Mesophyll’
means the dominance of plants with
large leaves between 12.5 and 25 centimetres
(31.25 inches and 62.5 inches) and
‘complex’ means the large
variety of life forms. ‘Vine’
stands for the many different twiners
in all layers of the forest. Other
features include lots of epiphytes
(such as orchids and ferns), buttressed
tree roots and multiple layers of
vegetation.
More than 500 rare
or threatened plant species are protected
within the World Heritage Area and 330
of them are only found here.
Primitive
Plants – Twelve
of the word’s
19 primitive plant families are found
on the Daintree coast. This is the
highest concentration of primitive
families on earth. Within these families
there are at least 50 species found
only in the Wet Tropics. One example
is Austrobaileya
scandens. Because it evolved long
before butterflies and bees its waxy
flowers attract beetles to serve as
pollinators.
Fan
Palm Forests – One
of the distinctive plant
communities of the Daintree
coast are the fan palm forests.
The fan palm
(Licuala ramsayi) is
found mostly on moist, poorly
drained soils. Their flexible
stems can withstand cyclones,
and the large palm fronds
fold up in strong winds which
would otherwise strip them.
Animals
The communities of animals which
live in the Daintree are descendents from ancient ancestors
or recent migrants from Asia. Animals found in the
Daintree include:
Musky Rat Kangaroo – believed
to be the evolutionary link between possums and
kangaroos. The Musky Rat Kangaroo scurries across
the forest floor searching for fallen rainforest
fruit and insects. It hoards fallen fruit to keep
it safe from other ground dwelling rodents.
Possums – the
Daintree River ringtail possum is a leaf-eating
mammal which moves slowly through the forest canopy
by night and rests by day.
Bats – all
of the bats found in the Daintree region have close
relatives in Asia or Papua New Guinea. The Daintree
coast is home to an estimated 34 species of bats.
The big flying foxes and the smaller tube-nosed
and blossom bats pollinate the flowers and disperse
the fruit of a wide range of rainforest trees and
plants, and are essential for the forest to survive
as we know it.
Tree Kangaroos – a
cross between a possum and a kangaroo, these mammals
feed and sleep in the trees but if frightened will
bound away across the forest floor. Bennett’s
Tree Kangaroo is only found in the Daintree region.
Birds
The region’s diverse birdlife
is a response to the diversity and complexity of the
vegetation types. The rainforest dwellers are very
specialised, each using different parts of the forest
to avoid competition. Daintree species include honey-eaters,
fruit pigeons and of course the endangered cassowary.
Reptiles
Reptiles found in the Daintree include
geckoes, skinks, freshwater turtles and snakes. The
tiny Thornton Peak skink is only 3.5 centimetres long
(about 8.5 inches) and occurs only on Thornton Range,
feeding on insects and leaf litter. Far more conspicuous
is the salt-water crocodile. Growing up to six metres
long the crocodile inhabits the swamps, estuaries and
beaches of the coastal lowlands.
More
Information
Acknowledgement: The
Daintree Coast, Cassowary Publications,
Wet Tropics Management Authority.
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