Marmosets With Attitude

22 facts you never knew about marmosets.

By MacDreidel

Published 11 years ago

22 facts you never knew about marmosets.

1
They are matriarchal, and only the dominant female is allowed to mate. Like other marmosets, the offspring are always born in pairs.

2
Pygmy Marmosets grow up to 15 cm long, however their tails can be up to 23 cm long.

3
Male marmosets reach sexual maturity one year after birth while females may become sexually active on becoming 20-24 months old.
4
Marmosets are omnivorous - their natural diet consists of fruits, leaves, tree sap, plant resins, insects, bird eggs (stolen from nests), spiders and smaller vertebrates.

5
They inhabit the Amazon Rainforest in Equador, Columbia, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil.
6
They spend most of their lifetime in trees, where they find food and hide from predators.
7
The Golden Lion Tamarin gets its name from its bright reddish orange pelage and the extra long hairs around the face and ears which give it a distinctive mane.

8
The Emperor Tamarin is allegedly named for its resemblance to the German Emperor Wilhelm II.
9
They live in family groups of between five and nine individuals with one male, a female and their offspring. Only one female will breed in the group producing twins twice a year.
10
The biggest threat to pygmy marmosets is the pet trade. They are still relatively common throughout their range and have the ability to live in fragmented forest close to settlements.

11
They are highly social, and have individually distinctive calls, they communicate through gestures and olfactory markings as well.
12
Common marmosets are small-bodied monkeys that are a mottled brown, grey, and yellow color with white ear tufts and long, banded tails.
13
The Buffy-Tufted Marmoset is very similar in appearance to the Common Marmoset, but it is typically larger in many aspects.

14
The Pygmy Marmoset is the world's smallest monkey, they grow to between 5 and 6 inches long, and weigh less than 5 ounces.
15
The fur of the silvery marmoset is colored whitish silver-grey except for a dark tail. Remarkable are its naked, flesh-colored ears which stand out from the skin.
16
In typical marmoset society, the responsibility of youngsters is shared by the father and other group members. Things like carrying, sharing food, looking out for predators and keeping an eye on the young marmosets is taken care of by various members of a troop of marmosets.

17
On all but the big toe, they have claw-like nails called tegulae instead of flat nails (ungulae) of other primates. The presence of claw-like nails helps common marmosets in clinging vertically to trees, running quadrupedally across branches, and moving between trees by leaping.
18
About 70% of their diet consists of tree sap, the other 30% is made up of mostly of insects.
19
The average lifespan of a wild common marmoset is 12 years.

20
The average size of their territory is between 25 and 100 acres, and they will defend their territory against other marmosets.
21
When threatened they make loud chirping noises as a warning to other members within the troop.
22
Grooming is a very important part of social bonding.