. . . on the land
Xenothrix mcgregori : Giant Galliwasp
Xenothrix mcgregori, an extinct Jamaican monkey, may have become extinct as recently as the end of the 17th century. Hans Sloane in The Natural History of Jamaica suggests the presence of monkeys in the island:
partial skull of Xenothrix mcgregori
It had been assumed in the past that
the 'simiae' referred to were indeed strays from ships, but the
discovery and identification of pieces of skeletal remains, clearly
belonging to a small primate, in caves in Jamaica in the 20th century,
raised the question as to what the fruit-eating monkeys were that
Sloane had heard about. Could they indeed have been Xenothrix mcgregori?
Remains of Xenothrix mcgregori have been found in caves at -
1) Sheep Pen; 2) Long Mile Cave; 4) Jackson's Bay Caves; possible
remains have been found at 3) Coco Ree Caves.
1) Sheep Pen; 2) Long Mile Cave; 4) Jackson's Bay Caves; possible
remains have been found at 3) Coco Ree Caves.
For further information on these finds, and those who found them,
you can start by going to a web page of the
Committee on Recently Extinct Species.
you can start by going to a web page of the
Committee on Recently Extinct Species.