Marmoset

Airwolfhound, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

on November 11, 2011

Younger marmosets will help care for the young of others in their group while waiting to establish families of their own.

Design

Pygmy Marmoset

Younger marmosets will help care for the young of others in their group while waiting to establish families of their own. By doing this, they learn the necessary skills to care for their own young. The pygmy marmoset is an active, agile creature, which moves through the trees in an upright position. Its forelimbs are shorter than its hindlimbs and it often feeds while clinging upright to a trunk or branch.

Features

  • The pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world.
  • It is recognized by its silky, gray coat with yellow streaks. The longer hair on its head and cheeks gives it the appearance of having a mane.
  • Its coloration provides great camouflage for its life in the trees.

Fun Facts

  • The pygmy marmoset can rest by piercing its nails into trees, allowing it to relax.
  • When a pygmy marmoset is frightened, it turns its head in all directions very quickly, with sudden, jerky movements.
  • This species sleeps in tree holes or vine tangles.

Created Kind Members

Tamorin, silky marmoset, black-tailed marmoset

CLASS: Mammalia (mammal)
ORDER: Primates (monkeys)
FAMILY: Callitrichidae (marmosets and tamarins)
GENUS/SPECIES: Callithrix pygmaea

Size: 15 in (0.4 m) tail included
Weight: 4–7 oz (0.1–0.2 kg)
Original Diet: Plants
Present Diet: Primarily tree sap; also fruits, insects, birds’ eggs, and small birds
Habitat: The Upper Amazon, parts of Ecuador, northern Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil

Zoo Guide

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