Short answers, pulled from the story.
Francisco de Orellana named the Amazon rainforest in 1542 after fighting with the Tapuyas tribe. He derived the name Amazonas from the Amazons of Greek mythology described by Herodotus and Diodorus.
The Amazon rainforest likely formed during the Eocene era spanning from 56 million years to 33.9 million years ago. It has been in existence for at least 55 million years.
One in ten known species in the world lives in the Amazon rainforest including about 2.5 million insect species and tens of thousands of plants. At least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region.
In 2022, about 20% of the Amazon rainforest has already been deforested and a further 6% was highly degraded. Seventy percent of formerly forested land and 91% of land deforested since 1970 have been used for livestock pasture.
In April 2019, the Ecuadorian court stopped oil exploration activities in part of the Amazon rainforest. In July 2019, the Ecuadorian court forbade the government to sell territory with forests to oil companies.