1,200 New Species Discovered in the Amazon Rain Forest
The Amazon rainforest has thousands of different kinds of plants and animals. In the past decade more than 1,200 new species were discovered .
According to a World Wildlife report the Amazon is home to over 600 plants, 250 fish, 200 amphibians and almost 40 mammals that have been unknown up to now. The report says these species are in danger if we don’t do anything to protect them. In the last 50 years over 17% of the rain forest has been destroyed.
The new species include
- a new four meter long snake discovered in the Bolivian Amazon region
- an extraordinary frog with a leg pattern that has been unseen before; it lives , in the Peruvian lowlands of the Amazon
- a colorful parrot discovered in the Brazilian rain forest; they are in danger of becoming extinct because there are very few of them
- a pink river dolphin that is different than the Bolivian dolphin discovered in the 19th century ; it has a shorter body and more teeth
- a new red catfish that lives mainly in underground waters
Related Topics
- New Gold Rush in Peru
- New Mamal Species Discovered in South American Andes
- Endangered Species
- Endangered Tigers
- Amphibians
- Endangered Mountain Gorillas
- Tropical Rainforest
- Battle against deforestation in Indonesia
Words
- according to = as said by …
- amphibian = animals like frogs that can live on land and in water
- catfish = a fish with hair around its mouth ; it lives in lakes and rivers
- century = a hundred years
- decade = a period of ten years
- discover = to find something for the first time
- extraordinary = strange, unusual, special
- mammal = an animal that drinks from its mother’s body when it is young; people, dogs and whales are among mammals
- pattern = the ways shapes and colors repeat themselves
- protect = guard, save
- species = group or class of animal or plants