The Plants & Animals of the Biomes

A companion post to The Peoples of the Biomes. Many thanks to Waseca Biomes for making this amazing material! The cards are wonderful for giving a quick overview of a place, but they can also be used in research projects.

For each biome on each continent, they try to give you a plant, invertebrate, fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal. For more materials, I suggest

Biomes of the Continent Boxes (to display the cards)

Biome Stamps

Map Legend Stamp

Complete Set of Biome Puzzles with Cabinet

Antarctica - white

Polar
Antarctic hair grass
springtail
ice fish
emperor penguin
leopard seal

Europe - red

Polar
matted cassiope
dewy ringlet
whitefish
common European frog
viviparous lizard
king eider
reindeer

Mountains
edelweiss
Alpine emerald
Alpine bullhead
Alpine salamander
asp viper
wallcreeper
ibex

Grasslands
dwarf gorse
wedding present spider
Carpathian lamprey
parsley frog
Greek tortoise
corn bunting
marbled polecat

Wetlands
water soldier
pond skater
wels
midwife toad
European grass snake
bearded reedling
water vole

Temperate Forest
sessile oak
puss moth
zander
fire salamander
slow worm
green woodpecker
greater noctule

Africa - green

Mountains
giant groundsel
mountain beauty
sucking barb
natal ghost frog
Essex mountain lizard
golden-winged sunbird
hooved hyrax

Grasslands
baobab
red locust
Egyptian mouthbrooder
South African rain frog
pancake tortoise
secretary bird
cheetah

Wetlands
papyrus
mosquito
West African knifefish
reed frog
Nile crocodile
African jacana
hippopotamus

Tropical Forest
mahogany
giant African snail
African leaffish
goliath frog
gaboon viper
African pitta
okapi

Desert
welwitschia
Namib Desert beetle
West African lungfish
Mauritanian toad
webfooted gecko
sandgrouse
fennex fox

Oceania - brown

Mountains
mountain snowberry
Mountain stone weta
Canterbury galaxias
Hochstetter's frog
jewelled gecko
kea
stoat

Grasslands
Mitchell grass
compass termite
barramundi
water-holding frog
striped legless lizard
emu
long-tailed planigale

Wetlands
mangrove
giant mud crab
threadfin rainbow fish
remote froglet
saltwater crocodile
royal spoonbill
platypus

Temperate Forest
red ironbark
spiny leaf insect
black stripe minnow
laughing tree frog
tuatara
kiwi
wombat

Tropical Forest
orange mistletoe
Queen Alexandra's birdwing
archer fish
white-lipped tree frog
pig-nosed turtle
northern cassowary
red-legged pademelon

Desert
parrot bush
honey ant
desert goby
trilling frog
thorny devil
painted firetail finch
black-footed rock wallaby

South America - pink

Mountains
ice cream bean tree
clouded yellow
rock climbing fish
Noble's pygmy frog
mountain dwelling lizard
Andean condor
spectacled bear

Grasslands
pampas grass
railroad worm
boga
pampas frog
boa constrictor
rhea
pink fairy armadillo

Wetlands
water hyacinth
hawkmoth
golden dorado
shrinking frog
dwarf caiman
jabiru stork
capybara

Temperate Forest
monkey puzzle tree
boyfriend beetle
zebra trout
Darwin's frog
Bibron's iguana
Des Murs' wiretail
southern pudu

Tropical Forest
blushing bromeliad
stick grasshopper
Amazon hatchet fish
Surinam toad
blunthead tree snake
umbrella bird
three-toed sloth

Desert
puya cactus
rose-haired tarantula
silversides
waxy monkey tree frog
Chaco tortoise
common miner
grey zorro

Asia - yellow

Polar
hairy lousewort
water springtail
sterlet
spoon-billed sandpiper
polar bear

Mountains
gentian
shield bug
snow trout
Himalayan toad
Tibetan lizard
Monal pheasant
Himalayan langur

Grasslands
feather grass
six-spot burnet moth
snakehead
fire-bellied toad
steppe ribbon racer
green munia
Przewalski's wild horse

Wetlands
lotus
Adonis blue
mudskipper
reed frog
gavail
Chinese little bittern
wild boar

Temperate Forest
ginkgo
green silver lines
mud loach
black horned frog
Chinese softshell
Peking robin
forest musk deer

Tropical Forest
pitcher plant
Raja Brooke's birdwing
featherback
Asian horned frog
banded water monitor
red jungle fowl
clouded leopard

Desert
purple broomrape
camel spider
tic tac toe barb
desert tree frog
palm lizard
Pander's ground jay
long-eared hedgehog

North America - orange

Polar
Arctic poppy
phoebus butterfly
Arctic char
wood frog
rock ptarmigan
musk ox

Mountains
bristlecone pine
pine sawyer beetle
brook trout
boreal toad
mountain short-horned lizard
California condor
bighorn sheep

Grasslands
Indian paintbrush
American bird grasshopper
golden shiner
plains leopard frog
striped whitesnake
greater prairie chicken
bison

Wetlands
cattail
crayfish
tadpole matdom
eastern newt
American alligator
purple gallinule
marsh rice rat

Temperate Forest
maple tree
earthworm
firehead cichlid
tiger salamander
box turtle
wild turkey
beaver

Tropical Forest
tillandsia
trap-jaw ant
electric eel
strawberry poison dart frog
bushmaster
quetzal
margay

Desert
saguaro cactus
desert tarantula
Nevada pupfish
western spadefoot
gila monster
roadrunner
coyote

Each set of cards includes an overview of the biome, as well as a map of the continent showing exactly where that biome is found, plus a fact card (including scientific name) and full-color illustration card for each plant or animal. The colored border around these cards matches the color coding of the continents as seen on the Montessori Colored Globe of the Continents.

These cards are for simple research for younger children or a jumping off point for older children. They are great for the fourth grade block on Zoology in Waldorf. I especially like to lay out all of the animals for one specific biome -- all around the world -- and see the similarities and differences!

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