<p><strong>The poison dart frog <em>Ranitomeya amazonica </em>is one of more than 1,200 new species of plants and vertebrates discovered in the Amazon <a href="http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/habitats/rainforest-profile.html?nav=A-Z">rain forest</a> between 1999 and 2009, the international conservation group <a id="c:.g" title="WWF" href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/home-full.html">WWF</a> announced Tuesday in a <a id="ubuc" title="new report" href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2010/WWFPresitem18394.html?intcmp=342">new report</a> highlighting the region's biodiversity.</strong></p><p>At least 17 percent of the Amazon has been cleared to make room for cattle or crops that are grown for animal feed and <a id="jkss" title="biofuels" href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/biofuel-profile/?source=A-to-Z">biofuels</a>, WWF says. The wildlife group is calling for greater species protection in the face of increasing development pressure. (Related: <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070208-ethanol.html">"Ethanol Production Could Be Eco-Disaster, Brazil's Critics Say."</a>)</p><p><em>R. amazonica, </em>which sports a burst of "flame" on its head and water-patterned legs, was discovered in 1999 in moist lowland forests. The new species' primary threats include land clearing and collection for the wildlife trade, WWF reports. (See <a id="krpn" title="&quot;Farming the Amazon.&quot;" href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/last-of-amazon.html">"Farming the Amazon."</a>)</p><p><em>—John Roach</em></p>