Weight: Four to seven ounces
Body Length: Five inches with an eight inch tail
Description: Pygmy marmosets are the world's smallest true monkeys. (The smallest primate
is they pygmy mouse lemur.) The fur is buff and grey with yellow and green striations, which give
it a grizzled effect on the head and back. And a vague banded effects on the tail. They have long
hair on their heads and chest giving them the appearance of a mane. Their forelimbs are shorter than their
hind limbs and they often feed while clinging to a trunk or branch with their sharp claws. They have
clasws on all digits except the big toe which has a flat nail. They are arboreal and very agile creatures,
running, jumping and occasionally leaping among trees and shrubs. They move quadrupedally through the
trees in an upright position.
Range/Habitat: Found wild in the Upper Amazon basin east of the Andes in Columbia, Ecuador, Peru,
Northern Bolivia and Brazil. They have a patchy distribution in mature and secondary lowland rain forest,
especially seasonally flooded forests, river margins, flood plains, and stream sides. They are rarely
seen in the trees above 60 feet or on the ground.
Adaptations: Pygmy Marmosets are gumophores which means they gouge holes into trees or vines with
their sharp lower teeth and then feed on the gum or sap that is extruded. They spend a large portion of their
time gnawing on branches, from which they will later collect sap. As an adaptation for gnawing, marmosets
have long, forward turned, lower incisors that are the same length as their canines. They also have two molars
as opposed to three in most other monkeys.
Courtship/Gestation/Birth: Marmosets are found in groups of 2-6 consisting of a pair of adults and their
offspring. The monogamy practiced by this species is notable because monogamy is fairly rare in both mammals
and primates. Fraternal twins every five to six months are the reproductive norm of these marmosets (although
three offspring may also occur). The dominate female is the only member of the family that produces offspring.
The presence of an adult female may suppress ovulation in the other female members of the family. Gestation
lasts 4.5 months. After the first 24 hours, young are most often carried by the adult male or juveniles and
returned the adult female for nursing. This practice relieves the energy drain on the mother and gives the
siblings practice for parenthood. At birth the young weigh approximately .5 ounces. They become sexually
mature at 1.5 yr of age. Juveniles usually stay with the group through the two subsequent birth cycles.
Prey/Predator: Mainly prey (Main predator birds of prey)/Predator to insects
Diet: A variety of fruits, vegetables, greens, insects, and rich in animal proteins, minerals, and
vitamins. Wild marmosets eat a wide variety of fruits, tree sap, insects, small lizards, and spiders.
Status: Pygmy Marmosets are currently not endangered. However, they are listed as special concern
or somewhat threatened. Because of their size, mobility and coloration, it is almost impossible to count the
pygmy marmosets living in the South American forests. A threat to these small primates is the pet trade.
Special Notes: Communication between marmosets includes scent marking, facial expressions and posture.
In addition to the high-pitched whistles and twitters, pygmy marmosets also produce an ultrasonic cry expressing
hostility that is inaudible to humans. Calls include: Open mouth trill: loud, alarm, Closed mouth trill: squeaky,
Contact and twitter: submissive
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