Water transportation is very popular among both citizens and tourists. It also allows for ocean vessels to travel for around 1,600 kilometers up the river.
In 2011, researchers discovered two new species of freshwater stingrays in the Amazon River.
The Heliotrygon (rosai and gomesi), commonly referred to as the Pancake stingrays, is the first new genus of stingrays from the Amazon described since 1987.