The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are twenty-two

New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboi ...

species of the

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

'' Callithrix'', '' Cebuella'', '' Callibella'', and ''

Mico Mico may refer to: People * Mićo Janić (born 1979), Croatian sprint canoer * Mićo Ljubibratić (1839–1889), Serbian revolutionary * Mico Palanca (1978–2019), Filipino actor * Mićo Smiljanić (born 1974), Serbian/Montenegrin footballer * Mi ...

''. All four genera are part of the biological

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Callitrichidae The Callitrichidae (also called Arctopitheci or Hapalidae) are a family of New World monkeys, including marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins. At times, this group of animals has been regarded as a subfamily, called the Callitrichinae, of th ...

. The term "marmoset" is also used in reference to Goeldi's marmoset, ''Callimico goeldii'', which is closely related. Most marmosets are about long. Relative to other

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

s, they show some apparently primitive features; they have claws rather than nails, and tactile hairs on their wrists. They lack

wisdom teeth The third molar, commonly called wisdom tooth, is the most posterior of the three molars in each quadrant of the human dentition. The age at which wisdom teeth come through ( erupt) is variable, but this generally occurs between late teens a ...

, and their

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

layout seems to be relatively primitive. Their body temperature is unusually variable, changing by up to in a day. Marmosets are native to South America and have been found in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. They have also been occasionally spotted in Central America and southern Mexico. They are sometimes kept as pets, though they have specific dietary and habitat needs that require consideration. According to recent research, marmosets exhibit germline chimerism, which is not known to occur in nature in any

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

s other than callitrichids. 95% of marmoset

fraternal twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

trade blood through chorionic fusions, making them

hematopoietic Haematopoiesis (; ; also hematopoiesis in American English, sometimes h(a)emopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells. In a healthy adult human, roughly ten ...

chimeras.

Etymology

''Callithrix'' comes from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

and means "beautiful fur".

Species list

* Genus '' Callithrix''—Atlantic marmosets ** Common marmoset, ''Callithrix jacchus'' ** Black-tufted marmoset, ''Callithrix penicillata'' ** Wied's marmoset, ''Callithrix kuhlii'' ** White-headed marmoset, ''Callithrix geoffroyi'' ** Buffy-headed marmoset, ''Callithrix flaviceps'' ** Buffy-tufted marmoset, ''Callithrix aurita'' * Genus ''

''—Amazonian marmosets ** Rio Acari marmoset, ''Mico acariensis'' ** Silvery marmoset, ''Mico argentatus'' ** White marmoset, ''Mico leucippe'' ** Emilia's marmoset, ''Mico emiliae'' ** Black-headed marmoset, ''Mico nigriceps'' ** Marca's marmoset, ''Mico marcai'' ** Black-tailed marmoset, ''Mico melanura'' ** Santarem marmoset, ''Mico humeralifer'' ** Maués marmoset, ''Mico mauesi'' ** Munduruku marmoset, ''Mico munduruku'' ** Gold-and-white marmoset, ''Mico chrysoleucos'' ** Hershkovitz's marmoset, ''Mico intermedius'' ** Satéré marmoset, ''Mico saterei'' ** Rondon's marmoset, ''Mico rondoni'' * Genus '' Callibella''—Roosmalens' dwarf marmoset ** Roosmalens' dwarf marmoset, ''Callibella humilis'' * Genus '' Cebuella''—Pygmy Marmoset ** Pygmy marmoset, ''Cebuella pygmaea''

Behavior

Marmosets are highly active, living in the upper canopy of forest trees, and feeding on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

, leaves, tack, sap, and gum. They have long lower

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

s, which allow them to chew holes in tree trunks and branches to harvest the gum inside; some species are specialised feeders on gum. Marmosets live in family groups of three to 15, consisting of one or two breeding females, an unrelated male, their offspring, and occasionally extended family members and unrelated individuals. Their mating systems are highly variable and can include

monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a social relation, relationship of Dyad (sociology), two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate Significant other, partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or #Serial monogamy ...

polygyny Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); . Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...

, and

polyandry Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives ...

. In most species, fraternal twins are usually born, but triplets are not unknown. Like other callitrichines, marmosets are characterized by a high degree of cooperative care of the young and some food sharing and tolerated theft. Adult males, females other than the mother, and older offspring participate in carrying infants. Father marmosets are an exceptionally attentive example of fathers within the animal kingdom, going as far as assisting their mates in giving birth, cleaning up afterbirth, and even biting the umbilical cords attaching their newborn offspring to their mothers. Most groups scent mark and defend the edges of their ranges, but whether they are truly territorial is unclear, as group home ranges greatly overlap. The favorite food of marmosets is carbohydrate-rich tree sap, which they reach by gnawing holes in trunks. Their territories are centered on the trees that they regularly exploit in this way. The smaller marmosets venture into the very top of forest canopies to hunt insects that are abundant there. Marmosets use chirps, trills, and "phee" calls to communicate with each other. "Phee" calls are long-distance vocalizations that help monkeys identify each other's locations. Marmosets have been observed to use distinctive "phee" calls for the different individuals in their group, similar to a human name.

References

External links

Primate Info Net ''Callithrix'' Factsheets

Common Marmoset Care
{{Callitrichidae nav Callitrichidae Primates of South America Mammal common names