The spider monkey
at
Carlos Botelho, the
red-tailed amazon
at
Pariquera-Abaixo, the
broad-snouted caiman
at
Ilha do Cardoso and the
tucuxi dolphin
in the coastal waters of Paraty and
Ilha Grande
are some examples for the variety of life forms in the Atlantic Rainforest.
The site provides also an important refuge for
jaguar
and puma,
the first and second largest cat native to the Western Hemisphere.
With more than 450 woody plant species/ha in some spots, flora diversity
is higher than in the Amazon.
Its ecosystems, species composition and structure change with altitude.
Whereas the
Altitude Fields
above 1.800 m, as in
Itatiaia
are dominated by grasslands, the
Cloud Forest
formation between 1.000 - 1.800 m is characterized by low mist forest,
such as the famous
araucaria
pine tree of
Campos do Jordão.
From 50 - 1.000 m occurs the
submontane
and
montane rainforest
with giant trees reaching 40 m in height, the
endemic palm tree
(Euterpe Edulis) and many epiphytes, such as ferns, orchids and bromeliads.
At sea level (e.g.
Juréia-Itatins),
lowland rainforest
mixed with marine and fluvial - marine ecosystems such as
Restinga and
Mangrove
occur.
With its "mountains to the sea" attitudinal gradient, its estuary,
wild rivers, karst and numerous waterfalls, the site also has exceptional scenic values.
PETAR and
Intervales
shelter the largest number of karst caves known to exist in Brazil (300) and at
Serra dos Órgãos
climbers face some of the countries most challenging rock formations. Aside from its natural beauty the Atlantic Rainforest
hides some significant cultural sites such as the historic gold trail at
Serra da Bocaina,
the pre-historic
sambaquis
at
Superagüi
and the
caiçara cultures
at
Ilhabela and
Juatinga.
