Dr. Marc van Roosmalen

Dr. Marc van Roosmalen (born June 23, 1947 in Tilburg, The Netherlands) is a Dutch-Brazilian primatologist, botanist, rainforest ecologist, and evolutionary psychologist. He studied biology at the Universities of Utrecht and Amsterdam. From 1976 – 1979, doctoral fieldwork was conducted in the Central Suriname Nature Reserve on the synecology of all eight primates that occur there and on the autecology of the red-faced black spider monkey (Ateles paniscus). As a preparation for long-term fieldwork on predominantly fruit-eating primates living up in the canopy, Van R. first compiled the ‘Illustrated Guide to the Fruits of the Guianan Flora’, a catalogue that included all trees and woody climbers known to occur in the northeastern part of South America. The publication of it in 1985 got him contracted by the Brazilian Government as senior scientist at INPA (National Institute of Amazon Research), Manaus-Amazonas. From early 1987 on, Van R. took on the seemingly impossible task to extend his fruit catalogue of the Guayanan Shield flora to a ‘magnum opus’ aimed to cover nearly 10,000 woody plant species from the larger Amazon. During his fieldwork on the unique biodiversity of the Amazon, his concept of an utterly detailed fruit catalogue turned out to be the best introduction to the rainforest a naturalist could wish for. In order to understand the basics of Amazonian rainforest ecology, animal behavior, co-evolution, archeology, physical anthropology, and for the solitary human intruder as a means to survive in this utterly complex, potentially dangerous environment, the author has learned that it all comes down to knowing the plants. This knowledge undoubtedly has led him to discover at least 20 mammal species new to science, among which the second smallest monkey in the world he named Callibella humilis (‘Van Roosmalen’s Dwarf Marmoset’). On account of these discoveries and his efforts to have the hotspots of biodiversity (where he found them) effectively protected, in 2000 the author was awarded one of Time Magazine/Ford Company’s ‘Heroes for the Planet’. Since 2013, Van R has been laying down in writing his lifelong experience, knowledge, philosophical thoughts and theories about natural and human history forthcoming his (often barefoot) walking and sailing across the Amazon – an intellectual legacy he feels obliged to pass on to future generations.