New Amazonian species discovered every two days while the rainforest is trashed by 'relentless deforestation'
‘There is a real risk that at the rate at which the Amazon is changing many species may become extinct before we have had a chance to find them’http://www.independent.co.uk/Ian Johnston
Environment Correspondent
A new species of pink river dolphin, Inia araguaiaensis Gabriel Melo-SantosA new species is being discovered in the Amazon every two days from fire-tailed titi monkeys and yellow-moustached lizards to pink river dolphins and honeycomb-patterned stingrays, according to a new report.
Conservation group World Wildlife Fund, who wrote the report along with Brazil’s Mamiraua Institute, said the astonishing rate of new finds showed scientists had still only scratched the surface of all the “incredible species†that live there.
But “relentless deforestation†of the Amazon means many of its undiscovered animals and plants will go extinct before they are found, WWF warned, urging governments in the region to take action.
The report revealed a total of 381 new species had been discovered in 2014 and 2015, including 216 plants, 93 fish, 32 amphibians, 20 mammals – although two of those were fossils – 19 reptiles and one bird.
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