Nature South America A report for grade 2 will briefly talk about the uniqueness of this part of the world. Also, a report on the nature of North America can be used during preparation for the lesson.
The unique nature of South America
The peculiarity of South America is that it has a huge extent in the direction from north to south. This determined the location of the continent in 5 climatic zones. Thanks to the varied climatic conditions, it has formed big number natural areas, and, as a result, the diversity of nature in South America is simply amazing.
So northern part the mainland was occupied by wet equatorial forests. They are called “selva” and translated from mainland Portuguese means “forest”. The territory of the jungle covers almost the entire Amazonian lowland. It is the largest tract of rain forest on the planet. Wet forests are somewhat reminiscent of African jungle, however, it rains more here and grows unique trees reaching up to 80 m in height - ceibas. These trees, along with hevea and cocoa, are “indigenous” representatives of the continent’s flora. Also amazing animal world: monkeys, snakes, frogs. There are a lot of them here. The most big snake- Anconda. The length of her body is 8.5 m. In depth Amazonian jungle there are many birds. The smallest bird in the world, the hummingbird, will live in South American forests. In addition to it, there are parrots, toucans and a huge number of insects.
The farther from the equator, the rain forests are gradually replaced by variable-humid forests, and then savannas. The famous Quebracho tree gives the savannahs its special features. The fauna is represented by anteaters, armadillos, and rhea ostriches. There are no large animals here. In South America, savannas are called llanos or campos.
The southern part of the mainland is occupied steppes- pumpami. It is predominantly inhabited by mammals such as deer and llamas. There are many open spaces in the pampa, fertile soils. It doesn't rain that much a large number of as in the north, so humus is not washed out from the ground as intensively.
Most southern part cover desert. They are called Patagonia. Here are the most unfavorable climatic conditions, there is little precipitation, and prevailing frosty winters. The flora is represented by cereals, evergreen shrubs, and the fauna is mainly small rodents.
We hope that the report on the topic “The uniqueness of the nature of South America” helped you prepare for the lesson, and you learned a lot of useful information about the flora and fauna of this part of the world.
South America is the fourth largest continent on Earth, with its outline resembling a triangle. The relief and nature of South America are different great variety. Of particular value is the huge water basin of the Amazon River, which has become home to many unique representatives of flora and fauna.
Geographical position
South America, together with all its few islands, covers an area of 18.3 million square meters. km. The continent is located almost entirely in the Western Hemisphere and partly in the Northern Hemisphere. It connects with North America using the thin Isthmus of Panama.
South America is surrounded on all sides by water:
- from the west it is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean;
- in the east - Atlantic Ocean;
- to the north is the Caribbean Sea - the natural boundary between North and South America.
There are 12 countries on the mainland, among which Brazil is the largest, occupying more than half of the territory. This is the only country in South America where official language- Portuguese, in all other countries they speak Spanish. This is due to the fact that the bulk of the population are descendants of settlers from Spain, Portugal and other countries.
Rice. 1. Brazil.
South America was discovered by the famous Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus when he was looking for new way to India. However, the first to suggest that the found lands were a new continent was the Florentine traveler Amerigo Vespucci. He suggested calling it New Earth, but after a while the continent was named America in his honor.
Nature of South America
South America is the wettest continent on the planet. This is due to the fact that most of territories located in equatorial belt, where there is a warm rainy climate. Varied terrain and geographical location continent led to the formation several natural zones:
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- rainforests(selva);
- steppes (pampas);
- deserts and semi-deserts.
Rice. 2. Selva.
Due to heavy rainfall on the mainland, there are a lot of rivers carrying their waters to the Atlantic Ocean. The largest and main river South America is the Amazon. It has become home to several million species of plants and animals. This is the place where almost half of all the fauna and flora of the Earth live. Here you can find such rare animals as freshwater dolphin, river cow, marine iguana, armadillo, jaguar, tapir and many others.
South America is home to the longest mountain range in the world - the Andes. The highest peak is Mount Aconcagua (6962 m). The mountain range is located in the west and north of the mainland, reliably protecting it from cold winds.
Rice. 3. Andes.
South America is home to the driest place in the world - the Atacama Desert. It is located in Chile and covers an area of 105 thousand square meters. km. In some desert regions, precipitation occurs only once every few decades.
South America is the fourth largest continent and lies in southern hemisphere. Five climatic zones determine the characteristics of the flora and fauna: equatorial, subequatorial, tropical, subtropical and temperate; most of the continent has a warm climate.
The plant and animal worlds are very rich, many species are found exclusively here. South America is a record holder in many ways; the longest and deepest river in the world, the Amazon, flows here, the longest Andes mountain range is located, and the largest Mountain Lake Titicaca is the rainiest continent on earth. All this significantly influenced the development of wildlife.
Nature different countries South America:
Flora of South America
The flora of South America is rightfully considered the main wealth of the continent. Such well-known plants as tomatoes, potatoes, corn, chocolate tree, the rubber tree was discovered here.
The tropical rainforests of the northern part of the continent still amaze with the richness of species, and today scientists continue to discover new plant species here. In these forests there are different types palm, melon tree. There are 750 species of trees and 1,500 species of flowers per 10 square kilometers of this forest.
The forest is so dense that it is extremely difficult to move through it; vines also make movement difficult. A characteristic plant for the tropical forest is the ceiba. The forest in this part of the mainland can reach a height of more than 100 meters and is distributed into 12 levels!
To the south of the jungle are variable-humid forests and savannas, where the quebracho tree grows, which is famous for its very hard and very heavy wood, valuable and expensive raw materials. In savannas, small forests give way to thickets of cereals, shrubs and tough grasses.
Even further south are the pampas - the South American steppes. Here you can find many types of grasses, common to Eurasia: feather grass, bearded grass, fescue. The soil here is quite fertile, since there is less rainfall and it is not washed away. Shrubs and small trees grow among the grasses.
The south of the mainland is a desert, the climate there is more severe, and therefore the vegetation is much poorer. Shrubs, some types of grasses and cereals grow on the rocky soil of the Patagonian desert. All plants are resistant to drought and constant weathering of the soil, among them are resinous chañar, chukuraga, and Patagonian fabiana.
Fauna of South America
The fauna, like the vegetation, is extremely rich; many species have not yet been described or qualified. The richest region is the Amazonian jungle. This is where such amazing animals are found, such as sloths, the smallest birds in the world, hummingbirds, great amount amphibians, including poisonous frogs, reptiles, including huge anacondas, the world's largest rodent capybara, tapirs, jaguars, river dolphins. Hunts in the forest at night wild cat ocelot, resembling a leopard, but found only in America.
Scientists estimate that the jungle is home to 125 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and an unknown number of species of insects and invertebrates. Rich and water world Amazon, its most famous representative is predatory fish piranha. Other famous predators are crocodiles and caimans.
The savannas of South America are also rich in fauna. Here you can find armadillos, amazing animals covered with plates - “armor”. Other animals that can only be found here are anteaters, rhea ostriches, spectacled bears, pumas, and kinkajou.
In the pampas of this continent there are deer and llamas that live on open spaces, and which can find here the herbs that they feed on. The Andes have their own special inhabitants - llamas and alpacas, whose thick wool saves them from the high mountain cold.
In the deserts of Patagonia, where only tough grasses and small shrubs grow on rocky soil, mainly small animals, insects, and various types of rodents live.
South America includes the Pacific Galapagos Islands, where amazing turtles are found, the largest representatives of the family on earth.
The main area of the vast territory of the South American mainland extends equatorially - tropical latitudes, therefore, it does not feel a lack of sunlight, although the climate of this part of the world is not at all as hot as Africa.
It is the wettest continent on the planet, and there are many natural reasons for this. The difference in pressure between warm land and the ocean environment, currents off the coast of the continent; the Andes mountain range stretching across a huge part of its territory, blocking the way west winds and promotes increased moisture and hair loss significant amount precipitation.
The climate of South America is extremely diverse, because the continent stretches across six climatic zones: subequatorial to moderate. Along with areas of fertile nature, there are areas known for mild winters and cool summers, but famous frequent rains and the winds.
In the center of the continent there is much less precipitation. And the highlands are distinguished by clean, dry air, but a harsh climate, where the bulk of the heavenly moisture falls, even in summer months, in the form of snow, and the weather is capricious, constantly changing throughout the day.
A person does not survive well in such places. Naturally, the vicissitudes of the weather also affect other organisms living there.
It is not surprising that given natural features, the world of fauna is incredibly diverse and rich. List of animals of South America is very extensive and impressive with its individual bright features of organic life that has taken root in this territory. It includes many wonderful and rare species creatures that amaze with their fantastic originality.
What animals are in South America live? Most have perfectly adapted to existence in harsh conditions, because some of them have to endure the discomfort of tropical downpours and survive in the highlands, get used to the peculiarities of the shroud and sub equatorial forests.
The fauna of this continent is amazing. Here are just some of its representatives, the diversity of which can be seen at photo of animals of South America.
Sloths
Interesting mammals– the inhabitants of forests are known throughout the world as very slow creatures. The peculiar animals are closely related to armadillos and anteaters, but purely outwardly they have little resemblance to them.
Number of sloth species included animals endemic to South America, only about five. They are united into two families: two-toed and three-toed sloths, which are quite similar to each other. They are half a meter tall and weigh about 5 kg.
Remind external features the appearance of an awkward monkey, and their thick, shaggy hair looks like a haystack. It's interesting that internal organs These animals differ in structure from other mammals. They lack hearing and visual acuity, their teeth are underdeveloped, and their brain is quite primitive.
The animal in the photo is a sloth
Armadillos
Fauna of South America would be significantly poorer without mammals. These are the most unusual animals among the edentates, a group that includes sloths.
The animals are dressed by nature in something similar to chain mail, as if clad in armor, girded with hoops consisting of bone plates. They have teeth, but very small size.
Their vision is not well developed, but their sense of smell and hearing are quite acute. When feeding, such animals grab food with their sticky tongue, and are able to bury themselves in loose soil in the blink of an eye.
Pictured is an armadillo
Ant-eater
Scroll South American animal names would not be complete without such an amazing creation as. This is an ancient, outlandish mammal that existed in the early Miocene era.
These representatives of the fauna inhabit the territories of savannah and rain forests, also live in swampy areas. They are divided by scientists into three genera, differing in weight and size.
Representatives of the genus of giants weigh up to 40 kg. They, like members of the genus of large anteaters, spend their lives on the ground and cannot climb trees. Unlike relatives, pygmy anteaters, skillfully moving along trunks and branches with the help of clawed paws and a prehensile tail.
Anteaters do not have teeth, and spend their lives searching for termite mounds and anthills, absorbing their inhabitants with the help of a sticky tongue, sticking their a long nose. An anteater can eat several tens of thousands of termites per day.
The animal in the photo is an anteater
Jaguar
Among South American forest animals, dangerous predator, killing with one jump, is . It is precisely in his dexterous, lightning-fast ability to kill his victims that the meaning of the name of this beast, translated from the language of the indigenous inhabitants of the continent, lies.
The predator is also found in shrouds and belongs to the panther genus, reaches a weight of just under 100 kg, has a spotted color like a leopard, and has a long tail.
Such animals live in the north and central parts of America, but are found in Argentina and Brazil. And in El Salvador and Uruguay some time ago they were completely exterminated.
In the photo there is a jaguar
Mirikina monkey
American monkeys are endemic, and differ from their relatives living on other continents by a wide partition separating the nostrils of these animals, for which many zoologists call them broad-nosed monkeys.
This type of creature inhabiting mountain forests includes the Mirikina, otherwise called durukuli. These creatures, which are about 30 cm tall, are notable for the fact that, unlike others, they lead an owl-like lifestyle: they hunt at night, seeing perfectly and orienting themselves in the dark, and sleep during the day.
They jump like acrobats, eat small birds, insects, frogs, fruits and drink nectar. They know how to publish huge number interesting sounds: dog barks, meows; roar like jaguars; chirping and chirping like birds, filling the darkness of the night with devilish concerts.
Monkey Mirikina
Titi monkey
It is not known exactly how many species of such monkeys exist in South America, since they have taken root in impenetrable forests, whose wilds cannot be fully explored.
Appearance Titi resemble mirikin, but have long claws. During the hunt, they guard their prey on the branch of a tree, tucking their arms and legs together and lowering their long tail down. But at the right moment, in the blink of an eye, they deftly grab their victims, be it a bird flying in the air or a living creature running along the ground.
Pictured is a titi monkey
Saki
These monkeys live in forests internal regions continent. They spend their lives on the tops of trees, especially in areas of the Amazon that are flooded with water. for a long time because they cannot tolerate dampness.
They jump on branches very deftly and far, and walk on the ground on their hind legs, helping themselves to maintain balance with their front legs. Zoo workers, observing these animals, noticed their habit of rubbing their own fur with pieces of lemon. And they drink by licking the water from their hands.
White-faced saki
Uakari monkey
Close relatives of the Saki, living in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins, are the most famous short tail among the continent's monkeys. These peculiar creatures, classified as endangered species and rare animals of South America, have red faces and a bald forehead, and with their lost and sad expression on their faces they look like an old person, confused in life.
However, appearances are deceptive, because the character of these creatures is cheerful and cheerful. But when they are nervous, they smack their lips noisily and shake the branch they are on with all their might.
Uakari monkey
Howler
South American harpy bird
Titicaca whistler frog
Otherwise, this creature is called a scrotum due to the flabbiness of its skin, hanging in folds. She uses her fancy skin for breathing, since her lungs are small in volume.
This is the most big frog in the world, found in the reservoirs of the Andes and Lake Titicaca. Some specimens grow up to half a meter and weigh about a kilogram. The color of the back of such creatures is dark brown or olive, often with light spots, the belly is lighter, creamy-gray.
Titicaca whistler frog
American manatee
Large mammal, inhabiting the shallow waters of the Atlantic coast. Capable of living also in fresh water bodies. The average length is three or more meters, weight in some cases reaches 600 kg.
These creatures are painted in rough grey colour, and their forelimbs resemble flippers. They eat plant foods. They have poor eyesight and communicate by touching their muzzles.
American manatee
Amazonian inia dolphin
The largest of the. His body weight can be 200 kg. These creatures are dark in color and sometimes have a reddish skin tone.
They have small eyes and a curved beak covered with tinny bristles. No more live in captivity three years and are difficult to train. They have poor vision, but developed system echolocation.
river dolphin inia
Piranha fish
This aquatic creature, famous for its lightning-fast attacks, received the title of the most voracious fish on the continent. Having a height of no more than 30 cm, she mercilessly and brazenly attacks animals and does not hesitate to feast on carrion.
The body shape is like a rhombus, laterally compressed. Usually the color is silver-gray. There are also herbivorous species of these fish that feed on vegetation, seeds and nuts.
Pictured is a piranha fish
Giant arapaima fish
According to scientists, the appearance of this ancient fish, a living fossil, has remained unchanged for millions of centuries. Individuals, as they say local residents continent, reach four meters in length, and weigh 200 kg. True, ordinary specimens are more modest in size, but they are valuable commercial fish.
Giant arapaima fish
Electric eel
The most dangerous big fish, having a mass of up to 40 kg, found in shallow rivers continent and has had enough human casualties to its name.
Capable of emitting electric charge of great power, but feeds only on small fish. It has an elongated body and smooth, scaly skin. The color of the fish is orange or brown.
Electric eel fish
Agrias claudina butterfly
The most beautiful tropical forests with a wingspan of rich colors, bright wings of 8 cm. The shape and combination of shades depends on the subspecies of the described insects, of which there are about ten. It is not easy to see the butterfly, as they are rare. It's even harder to catch such beauty.
Agrias claudina butterfly
Nymphalid butterfly
With wide, medium-sized wings, bright and variegated colors. Its lower part usually merges with environment against the background of dry leaves. These insects actively pollinate flowering plants. Their caterpillars feed on grass and leaves.
Nymphalid butterfly
South America is a continent whose fauna is incredibly rich and diverse. What animals live in South America and what plants grow there... want to know?
South America – ranks 4th in size among other continents globe. Every continent has something unique and unique, and South America is no exception.
Even a seasoned traveler has something to be surprised by; there are tropical rainforests, savannas and the Andes. This is a place of contradictions: Tierra del Fuego between Chile and Argentina is located in the cold Atlantic Ocean, the dusty steppes of Pampa stretch across Uruguay and Argentina, the majestic Andes with green valleys and coffee plantations rise from the west, in the north of Chile there is the Atacama Desert, which is the driest place in the world. The Earth, and in Brazil, in the area of the Amazon River, there are thickets of impenetrable jungle.
Andean fauna
The animals of South America are astonishingly diverse, as are its landscapes.
The longest mountains on the planet are the Andes; they are about 9 thousand kilometers long. These mountains are in different belts: in temperate, two subequatorial, equatorial, subtropical and tropical, so it grows in the Andes more quantity plants and a variety of animals.
IN lower tier Deciduous and evergreen trees grow in the equatorial forests, and at an altitude of 2500 meters there are cinchona trees and coca bushes. IN subtropical zones cacti and vines grow. In the Andes there are many valuable plants such as potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, coca, and cinchona trees.
The Andes are home to more than 900 species of amphibians, 1,700 species of birds and 600 species of mammals that are not found in large flocks, since they are separated by densely growing trees. Bright colors live in the forests large butterflies And big ants. A large number of birds nest in the dense forests, the most common being parrots, and there are also many.
To the fauna of the Andes Negative influence had the activity of people. Many condors used to live here, but today they are preserved in only two places: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Nudo de Pasto.
is the largest flying bird on the West Coast. It has shiny black plumage and a collar of white feathers around its neck. A white border runs along the wings.
Female condors are much larger than males. Sexual maturity in these birds occurs at 5-6 months. They build nests on rocky cliffs at an altitude of 3-5 thousand meters. A clutch most often contains 1-2 eggs. Among birds, condors are long-lived, as they can live for about 50 years.
Became a symbol of several states at the same time Latin America: Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador. In the culture of the Andean peoples, these birds play an important role.
But, despite this, in the twentieth century the number of these big birds decreased significantly, so they were included in the International Red Book. Today, condors are classified as a threatened species.
It is believed that the main reason for the degradation of condors was anthropological factors, that is, the landscapes in which these birds lived changed. They are also poisoned by the carcasses of animals that people shoot. Among other things, until recently, condors were deliberately shot, as there was a misconception that they pose a threat to domestic animals.
Today, several countries have organized programs for breeding condors in captivity, with their subsequent release into the wild.
Unusual islands of Lake Titicaca
Unique animals live not only in the Andes, but also in the areas of Lake Titicaca. Only here you can meet the Titicaca whistler and the wingless great grebe.
The Titicaca whistler is a frog endemic to Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is unusual for its floating Uros islands. According to legend, small tribes of Uros Indians settled on floating islands several thousand years ago in order to separate themselves from other peoples. These Indians themselves learned to build islands out of straw.
Each Uros island is formed from several layers of dry reeds, with the lower layers being washed away over time by the current, but the upper layers are constantly renewed. The islands are springy and soft, and water seeps through the reeds in some places. The Indians build their huts and make balsa de totora boats, also from reeds.
The Great Great Grebe is a bird that visits Lake Titicaca from time to time. Today there are approximately 40 floating Uros islands on Lake Titicaca. Moreover, on some islands there are observation towers and even solar panels to generate energy. Excursions to these islands are very popular among tourists.
Animals endemic to South America
Pudu deer are found exclusively in South America. These deer are small in height - only 30-40 centimeters, body length reaches 95 centimeters, and weight does not exceed 10 kg. These deer have little in common with their relatives: they have short straight horns, small oval-shaped ears with fur, and a gray-brown body color with fuzzy white spots.
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