The river has been the focus of exploration for centuries. Yet its murky waters are only now giving up their secrets. Last year, almost 20,000 new species of animals were found by researchers across the world - and a massive proportion came from the Amazon.

Despite logging, oil drilling, and other ecological damage in the region, scientists are finding more and more new creatures there.

'It is a strange trend,' said Mario de Pinna, director of the Zoological Museum in São Paulo. 'The more we destroy their environments, the more new creatures we find.'