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FURTHER INFORMATION ON NEOTROPICAL 
MONKEYS IN THE XVI CENTURY: PART 3

Bernardo Urbani
 
Here, I report on further descriptions and mentions of 

Neotropical monkeys when Europe first began its coloniza-

tion of the New World. In 1498, Christopher Columbus 

(hereafter referred to as C. Colón) landed on the island 

of Trinidad, four days before stepping foot on continen-

tal America in Paria, Venezuela. Hernando Colón (1488–

1539), son of the admiral of Genoa, wrote a chronicle 

about the travels of his father, including the day he first 

visited Trinidad. H. Colón indicated in his posthumous 

work (1571) that “in the point named Galea [currently 

known as Galeota Point, southeastern Trinidad]… They 

found many animal footprints that looked like goats, and 

also bones from one, but, since the head did not have 

horns, they believed it was a gato paúl, or monkey, later 
they knew that it was, since they saw many gatos paúles in 
Paria. That same day, August first [1498], sailing between 

Cape Galea and Cape Playa, to starboard, to the South, 

we saw Tierra Firme…” (H. Colón 1932: 132). As in the 
report of C. Colón about primates in Paria (Colón 1996, 

Urbani 1999), this mention not only refers to the first ob-

servation of remains alleged to be a monkey on the island 

of Trinidad (probably Cebus albifrons trinitatis or Alouatta 
macconelli), but also remarks on monkeys on the continent 
(A. arctoidea or C. olivaceus) seen by C. Colón a few days 
later in northeastern Venezuela.

Regarding the first report about monkeys on terra firma 
written by C. Colón in 1498 (Colón 1996, Urbani 1999), 

Pedro Martir de Anglería (1457–1526) added further in-

formation in 1500 indicating that “Another very singular 

thing the Admiral [C. Colón] has told me, and which is 

confirmed by his companions (all worthy of credence and 

whom I carefully questioned concerning the details of the 

voyage), is that he sailed twenty-six leagues, that is to say, 

one hundred and forty-eight miles, in fresh water; and 

the farther he advanced to the west, the fresher the water 



Neotropical Primates 18(2), December 2011 63

became. Finally, he saw a very lofty mountain, of which 

the eastern part was inhabited only by a multitude of mon-

keys with very long tails. All this side of the mountain is 

very steep, which explains why no people live there… It 

was learned by signs that that country was called Paria, 

that it was very extensive…” (Anglería 1912: 75). P. M. 

de Anglería also indicated that in the regions of Curiana 

and Cauchieta, in today’s Venezuela where the Peninsula 

of Paria is located, “The Spaniards brought away some very 

pretty monkeys and a number of parrots of varied colors, 

from that country” (Anglería 1912: 85). This seems to be 

the first report of primate trafficking from the Neotropics. 

The monkeys were probably wedge-capped capuchins 

(C. olivaceus) or howler monkeys (A. arctoidea).

In 1504, Angelo Trevisan, assistant to the Venetian ambas-

sador to the Spanish Crown, provided information on the 

primates encountered in continental America (Vannini de 

Gerulewicz 1989). He narrated part of the story of Pedro 

Alonso-Niño (1569–1502), who in 1499 directed an expe-

dition to the region of Paria. Trevisan (1989: 151) wrote 

that “Entering the island [refers to terra firme = Paria], they 
saw forests with the tallest dense trees, from where voices of 

animals filled the country with strange howls. But they saw 

that there were no dangerous animals, because the local in-

habitants of those forests walked quietly, without fear, with 

their bows and spears. ” Considering the particular tenden-

cy of reporting primates in the earliest XV century chroni-

cles (Urbani 1999, this study), it is quite probable that the 

above mentioned animals with their particular vocalization 

were almost certainly howler monkeys (A. arctoidea).

Few illustrations have been found that show primates from 

Brazil during the XVIth century. In 1557, the German trav-

eler Hans Staden (1525–1579) provided an illustration of a 

primate together with Amerindians and a European (Fig. 1). 

In 1558, the French traveler and cleric André de Thevet 

(1502–1590) published his Les singularitez de la France Ant-
arctique. This book has illustrations of three primates with 
humans (Fig. 2). Thevet visited the region of Rio de Janeiro, 

and it seems he was recording how Tupi Amerindians inter-

acted with monkeys (see also Urbani 1999). In 1585, Jean 

de Léry’s Histoire d’un voyage faict en la terre du Bresil,… 
published not only descriptions of primates from the Brazil-

ian coast but also an illustration. De Léry (1536–1613), a 

French explorer, visited the land of the Tupi in eastern Brazil. 

In this book, he presented an illustration of Tupinamba Am-

erindians with a monkey (Fig. 3). In 1592, the publisher 

Theodore de Bry (1527–1598) printed a scene in the Brazil-

ian coast of an indigenous community with Europeans and 

mythological entities, where a monkey was included (Fig. 3). 

These primates seem to be similar in term of the style with 

those illustrated Old World primates represented in the in-

cunable books produced during the first century of printing 

(B. Urbani, unpublished). 

By 1558, the renowned Swiss naturalist Konrad Gessner 

(1516–1565) already published his Historiæ animalium. 

This work included a review of the primates known in 

Europe by the first half of the XVIth century. In 1560, 

Gessner published his Icones animalium where the pre-
Linnean zoologist published what seems to be the first sci-

entific representation of a Neotropical monkey. The author 

showed different Old World monkeys such as a baboon and 

a macaque, primates from the Medieval imaginary, as well 

as the sagoin as an illustrated primate from the Americas 

(Fig. 1). A brief profile of this monkey, a marmoset (Calli-

thrix sp.), is also presented. He noticed morpho-behavioral 

characteristics such as its small size, and its agile and elusive 

nature. Gessner used the term Galeopithecum for referring 

to this primate.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of the Uni-

versity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and its personnel for 

their great support while visiting it on numerous occasions as 

well as the Library of Congress. The author would appreciate 

any comments and references for future updates.

Figure 1. The monkey of Hans Staden (1557, left), and the 
“sagoin” of C. Gessner (1558, right). 

Figure 2. The monkeys of André de Thevet´s Les singularitez de la 
France Antarctique.

Figure 3. The monkey of the Tupinamba in Jean de Léry (1585)’s 
chronicle (left), and Theodore de Bry (1592, right).



Neotropical Primates 18(2), December 201164

Bernardo Urbani, Centro de Antropología, Instituto Vene-
zolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Apartado 66.755, 

Caracas 1061-A, Venezuela E-mail: <bernardourbani@

yahoo.com>.

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Bry, T. de. 1592. America tertia pars. Memorabile provinciæ 
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Colón, C. 1996. Los cuatro viajes. Testamento. Alianza Edi-
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Colón, H. 1932. Historia del almirante don Cristóbal Colón 
por su hijo don Hernando. Tomo Primero. Librería General 
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Gessner, C. 1560. Icones animalium quadrupedum vivip-
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singulorum latinis, graecis, italicis, gallicis, et germanicus 
plerunque, et aliarum quoque linguarum, certis ordinibus 
digestae. Excudebat C. Froschoverus, Tiguri. Léry, J. de 
1585. Histoire d’un voyage faict en la terre du Bresil, autre-
ment dite Amerique. Antoine Chuppin, Geneva.

Staden, H. 1557. Warhaftige Historia und beschreibung 
eyner landtschafft der Wilnen Nacketen Grimmigen Men-
schfresser Leuthen in der Newenwelt America. Andre% 
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Thevet, A de 1558. Les singularitez de la France Antarctique. 
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de Spagna de le isole et terreni nuouamente trouati. In: 

Vannini de Gerulewicz M. (ed.), El Mar de los Descu-
bridores. Fundación de Promoción Cultural de Venezuela. 
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POPULATION DENSITY OF THE RED 
HOWLER MONKEY (ALOUATTA SENICULUS) 
IN A TROPICAL DRY FOREST FRAGMENT IN 
NORTHWESTERN COLOMBIA

 Juan Carlos Mejía Flórez
Jorge Andrés López Delgado 

 

Introduction

The tropical dry forest is one of the most endangered habi-

tats in Colombia. This habitat has been reduced to 1.5% 

of its original range due to anthropogenic effects (Murphy 

and Lugo 1986; Ramírez and Tesillo 2001). New World 

primates are dependent on arboreal habitats, so habitat loss 

in this region has caused primates to be restricted to the 

remaining forest fragments. Although habitat destruction 

continues to threaten Neotropical primates (Defler 2003; 

Michalski and Peres 2005), there are some species that can 

persist in these disturbed ecosystems (Crockett 1998; Hor-

wich 1998). The red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) is 
the primate with the largest range of distribution in Colom-

bia (dwelling in habitats from 0 to 3200 meters above sea 

level) and seems to be the most adaptable of these primates, 

occurring in habitats with a minimal amount of forest 

where other species of primates have disappeared (Crockett 

1998; Horwich 1998; Defler 2003). Although A. seniculus 
is not considered endangered in Colombia (it is categorized 

as “Low Concern” for this country) (Defler 2003), popula-

tions of this species inhabiting tropical dry forest could be 

threatened with extirpation due to habitat loss and frag-

mentation. Although A. seniculus is one of the most studied 
Neotropical primates, few studies have reported the status 

of its populations in tropical dry forest fragments (Green 

1978; Salazar 2000; Avila and Padilla 2005). This study 

reports a survey of A. seniculus in a conserved remnant of 
tropical dry forest at Hacienda El Ceibal, Municipio de 

Santa Catalina, Bolívar, Colombia with the aim of estimat-

ing density and evaluating population structure of this spe-

cies in the area. At the study site the Fundación Proyecto 

Tití (FPT) has carried out long-term investigations on the 

cotton-top tamarin, Saguinus oedipus, and led conservation 
activities including community-based programs.

Methods

Study area
Data were collected from the remnant of tropical dry forest 

(300 ha) at Hacienda El Ceibal (10°37'36" N; 75°14'50"W) 

located in northwestern Colombia (Figure 1). This forest 

fragment is located in the northern part of the Hacienda El 

Ceibal and is surrounded by pasture for cattle ranching. The 

study area has a maximum elevation of 34 m.a.s.l. and tem-

perature ranges from 24 to 38 °C. Rainfall (1200 mm/yr) 

varies seasonally with two dry seasons, one from January to 

March and one in December. Ramírez and Tesillo (2001) 

report that 75–80% of the trees lose their leaves during 

the dry season of January to March. Although this forest 

fragment is not a national park or sanctuary, it is under 

protection for conservation by the Fundación Proyecto Tití 

since the establishment of biological station in 1999. Three 

species of primates inhabit this forest fragment: S. oedipus, 
A. seniculus, and Cebus capucinus. However, of these three 
primate species, only S. oedipus had been subject of studies 
in this area.

Data collection
We estimated the density of red howler monkeys follow-

ing the protocol presented by Peres (1999). From Novem-

ber 28 to December 1, 2005, five transects ranging from 

800 to 1200 m were prepared from south to north in the 

forest fragment (Fig. 1). These five transects were walked 

from December 2005 to February 2006. Transects were