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 hree years ago, an Indian from deep in the Amazon jungle arrived at the home of biologist Marc van Roosmalen in Manaus, Brazil. The Indian held a tin can with a little monkey shivering inside. "'Oh, no. Not another one,' I thought," recalls Van Roosmalen. He and his wife Betty were already caring for 50 orphaned monkeys. Van Roosmalen poked a finger at the tiny ball of copper-colored fur. It squeaked fearfully.
Van Roosmalen, 53, nearly squeaked back with amazement. He was staring at a creature no scientist had ever seen. The tiny pygmy marmoset was not merely a new species, it belonged to an unknown group of species, or genus. It was an amazing discovery. No one had found a new genus of primates for 100 years!
Van Roosmalen wanted to find more of these tiny monkeys. He knew only that the monkey had been trapped somewhere near the Madeira River, a 2,000-mile stretch of water that flows into the Amazon River from the Andes Mountains. This one clue sent him on a nine-month journey. He tracked the marmoset to a previously unstudied area 200 miles southeast of Manaus. There, he and other scientists found seven new species of primates!
More Than Monkey Business
Van Roosmalen began studying caged monkeys in his native country, the Netherlands, but he wanted to go into the field. So he traveled to the South American nation of Suriname, where he studied wild spider monkeys. Often he survived on fruit gnawed by monkeys and then tossed away. "Spider monkeys are very economical eaters" and don't leave much, he says. "I was quite hungry."
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What other species may be hidden in Brazil's rain forest?
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Besides his monkey business, Van Roosmalen is trying to figure out new ways to save the Amazon jungle. He is working with environmental groups to purchase large areas so that species can be protected in their habitat.
This month Van Roosmalen will embark on another Amazon adventure. He plans to draw maps of a remote area and live with its native people. But he has another reason for exploring the region. He thinks there may be a new species of orange woolly monkey hiding there!
By Tim McGirk/Manaus
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