Tropical rainforests are thick, green forests that receive a huge amount of rain and stay warm throughout the entire year. These forests are home to more than half of all the plant and animal species on Earth! Rainforests are structured in four different layers, almost like floors in a tall apartment building, and each layer has its own special community of plants and animals.
The emergent layer is at the very top, where the tallest trees in the forest poke their crowns high above everything else, sometimes reaching 200 feet tall. These giant trees get the most sunshine and must be strong enough to handle wind and storms. Eagles, hawks, butterflies, bats, and monkeys live way up here in the bright sunshine.
Below that is the canopy layer, which forms a thick, dense roof of overlapping branches and leaves about 60 to 90 feet above the ground. This is where most rainforest animals live, including colorful parrots, tree frogs, sloths, and many types of monkeys that swing from branch to branch. The understory layer sits below the canopy in much darker conditions because the thick canopy blocks most of the sunlight from reaching down this far.
Small trees, bushes, and large-leafed plants grow here, along with insects, snakes, lizards, and jaguars that hunt in the shadows. The forest floor is the bottom layer where hardly any sunlight reaches at all. It's dark, damp, and covered with a carpet of decomposing leaves, fallen branches, and rotting fruit. Surprisingly, few plants grow here because of the lack of light. However, the forest floor is home to many insects like ants and termites, plus larger animals like tapirs, anteaters, and armadillos that search through the dead leaves for food.