Quarter of freshwater animals threatened with extinction: research

NEW YORK, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Nearly a quarter of animals living in rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources are threatened with extinction worldwide, according to a new research published on Wednesday.

"Huge rivers like the Amazon can appear mighty, but at the same time freshwater environments are very fragile," The Associated Press quoted study co-author Patricia Charvet, a biologist at Brazil's Federal University of Ceará, as saying.