Attalea maripa in its own genus in 1940, which he named "Ethnora" in recognition of Aublet's as a pioneer of the anti-slavery movement. Recent work has favoured maintaining all Attaleinae in a single genus, "Attalea". "Attalea maripa" ranges from Trinidad and Tobago in the north to Bolivia in the south. It is present in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. It is found in lowland forests and disturbed areas, on soils that are not usually flooded. The fruit of "A. maripa" are consumed by a variety of mammals. On Maracá Island, Roraima, in the Brazilian Amazon, fruit were
Iwokrama Forest degrees west longitude. The Iwokrama Forest is bordered to the west by the Pakaraima Mountains and to the east by the isolated highlands scattered through central-east Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. It is also bordered by savannahs in the southwest and northeast of Guyana and southwestern Suriname. The Essequibo River forms the eastern boundary. The northern boundary is the Siparuni River. The Burro-Burro River runs through the centre, and most of its watershed is within the Forest. The area is covered with lowland tropical forest, and dominated by tall tropical trees with a dense canopy 20 to 30 metres (70