Marmoset
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Photo] Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Date: 15 January 2007. Author: Carmem A. Busko. Taken in Tibau do Sul, Rio Grande do Norte. Tags: marmoset, sag??i.

Marmosets are New World monkeys in the genus Callithrix, which contains 18 species. The term "marmoset" is also used in reference to the Goeldi's Marmoset, Callimico goeldii, which is not part of the genus Callithrix and is not discussed in this article.

Most marmosets are about 20 cm long. Relative to other monkeys, they show some apparently primitive features: they have claws rather than nails, and tactile hairs on their wrists. They lack wisdom teeth, and their brain layout seems to be relatively primitive. Their body temperature is unusually variable, changing by up to 4 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit) in a day.

Marmosets are highly active, living in the upper canopy of forest trees, and feeding on insects, fruit and leaves. They have long lower incisors, 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 3 to 15, consisting of one to 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, polygyny and occasionally polyandry. 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. Most groups scent mark and defend the edges of their ranges, but it is unclear if they are truly territorial, as group home ranges greatly overlap.

The monkey is mentioned in Shakespeare's Tempest, when Caliban says he will instruct his new master Stephano "how to snare the nimble marmoset" [for eating], on the no-man island where the play takes place (Act 2, Scene 2).

According to recent research, marmosets exhibit germline chimerism, which is not known to occur in nature in any other primate.

Species list
Subgenus 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
Subgenus Mico - Amazonian marmosets
Rio Acari Marmoset, Callithrix acariensis
Manicore Marmoset, Callithrix manicorensis
Silvery Marmoset, Callithrix argentata
White Marmoset, Callithrix leucippe
Emilia's Marmoset, Callithrix emiliae
Black-headed Marmoset, Callithrix nigriceps
Marca's Marmoset, Callithrix marcai
Black-tailed Marmoset, Callithrix melanura
Santarem Marmoset, Callithrix humeralifera
Mau??s Marmoset, Callithrix mauesi
Gold-and-white Marmoset, Callithrix chrysoleuca
Hershkovitz's Marmoset, Callithrix intermedia
Sat??r?? Marmoset, Callithrix saterei
Subgenus Callibella - Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset
Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset, Callithrix humilis
Subgenus Cebuella - Pygmy Marmoset
Pygmy Marmoset, Callithrix pygmaea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmoset

The text in this page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article shown in above URL. It is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.