Natural History adds to the obligatory description--that they "abound in fruit and birds of every kind"--the unexpected detail that, "[t]hese islands, however, are greatly annoyed by the putrefying bodies of monsters, which are constantly thrown up by the sea".

Juba II (52/50 BCE--CE 23), King of Numidia and Mauretania, adds his observation of its geographical location. He states that the Fortunate Islands are positioned to the south in a nearly westerly