Crux stars as a fish. In Mapudungun, the language of Patagonian Mapuches, the name of the Southern Cross is "Melipal", which means "four stars". In Quechua, the language of the Inca civilization, Crux is known as "Chakana", which means literally "stair" ("chaka", bridge, link; "hanan", high, above), but carries a deep symbolism within Quechua mysticism. Acrux and Mimosa make up one foot of the Great Rhea, a constellation encompassing Centaurus and Circinus along with the two bright stars. The Great Rhea was a constellation of the Bororo of Brazil. The Mocoví people of Argentina also saw a rhea including the stars
Crux exiting the Gambia River in 1455, calling it the "carro dell'ostro" ("southern chariot"). However, Cadamosto's accompanying diagram was inaccurate. Historians generally credit João Faras for being the first European to depict it correctly. Faras sketched and described the constellation (calling it "Las Guardas") in a letter written on the beaches of Brazil on 1 May 1500 to the Portuguese monarch. Explorer Amerigo Vespucci seems to have observed not only the Southern Cross but also the neighboring Coalsack Nebula on his second voyage in 1501–1502. Another early modern description clearly describing Crux as a separate constellation is attributed to Andreas Corsali,