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Mico (genus)
Encyclopedia
Mico is a genus
of New World monkey
s of the family Callitrichidae, the family containing marmoset
s and tamarin
s. The genus was formerly considered a subgenus of the genus Callithrix
.
and geographic distribution: Callithrix species are distributed in eastern Brazil
(mainly the Atlantic Forest), while Mico species are distributed in the Amazon
, though a single species, the Black-tailed Marmoset, also occurs in the Pantanal
and Chaco
. Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset
(Callibella humilis) was formerly considered a Mico species, but now has its own genus, Callibella, due mainly to differences in size and genetics. Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset is significantly smaller than the Mico species, being about midway between the typical Mico species and the Pygmy Marmoset
, Cebuella pygmaea. Mico species differ from the tamarins of the genus Saguinus in that Mico has enlarged incisor
teeth the same size as the canine teeth which are used for gouging holes in trees to extract exudate
s.
Species level taxonomy
within Mico has also changed significantly in recent decades. Earlier authorities usually treated all as subspecies
of M. argentata (including the bare-eared taxa) or M. humeralifer (including the hairy-eared taxa), or even suggested all were subspecies of M. argentatus. Recent authorities have pointed out that several of the taxa are highly distinctive, and following the phylogenetic species concept all previous subspecies were proposed raised to species status in 2001. This has generally been followed since then. Furthermore, 7 of the 14 currently recognized species were only described to science after 1990.
s or less) than other Mico species.
Exudates, such as gum and sap, fruit, nectar and fungus make up the bulk of Mico's diet, but it also eats animal prey such as arthropod
s, young birds, small lizard
s and frog
s. They are specialized for exploiting exudates by their elongated, chisel-like lower incisors and a wide jaw gape that allows them to gouge bark of trees that produce gums. Their intestine
s also have an enlarged, complex cecum
that allows them to digest gums more efficiently than most other animals. Mico's ability to feed on exudates allows it to survive in areas where fruit is highly seasonal or not readily available.
Mico females generally gives birth to two or more infants at a time. They can ovulate and conceive within two to four weeks after giving birth, and ovulation is not inhibited by lactation
. Females generally reach sexual maturity between 12 to 17 months, and males between 15 and 25 months.
Emilia's Marmoset, Mico emiliae, sometimes interacts with the Brown-mantled Tamarin
, Saguinus fuscicollis.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of New World monkey
New World monkey
New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Platyrrhini parvorder and the Ceboidea superfamily, which are essentially synonymous since...
s of the family Callitrichidae, the family containing marmoset
Marmoset
Marmosets are the 22 New World monkey species of the genera Callithrix, Cebuella, Callibella, and Mico. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term marmoset is also used in reference to the Goeldi's Monkey, Callimico goeldii, which is closely related.Most marmosets...
s and tamarin
Tamarin
The tamarins are squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Callitrichidae in the genus Saguinus. They are closely related to the lion tamarins in the genus Leontopithecus.- Range :...
s. The genus was formerly considered a subgenus of the genus Callithrix
Callithrix
Callithrix is a genus of New World Monkeys of the family Callitrichidae, the family containing marmosets and tamarins. The genus contains the Atlantic forest marmosets. The genera Mico and Callibella were formerly considered a subgenus of the genus Callithrix...
.
Taxonomy
Mico differs from Callithrix in dental morphology, geneticsGenetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
and geographic distribution: Callithrix species are distributed in eastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(mainly the Atlantic Forest), while Mico species are distributed in the Amazon
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
, though a single species, the Black-tailed Marmoset, also occurs in the Pantanal
Pantanal
The Pantanal is a tropical wetland and one of the world's largest wetland of any kind. Most of it lies within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay, sprawling over an area estimated at between and...
and Chaco
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...
. Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset
Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset
Roosmalens' dwarf marmoset , also known as the black-crowned dwarf marmoset, is a small New World monkey native to the Amazon Rainforest, on the east bank of the lower Madeira River, and the west bank of the Aripuanã River, in Brazil. It has the smallest distribution of any primate in Amazonia...
(Callibella humilis) was formerly considered a Mico species, but now has its own genus, Callibella, due mainly to differences in size and genetics. Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset is significantly smaller than the Mico species, being about midway between the typical Mico species and the Pygmy Marmoset
Pygmy Marmoset
The pygmy marmoset or dwarf monkey is a New World monkey native to the rainforest canopies of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. It is one of the smallest primates, and the smallest true monkey, with its body length ranging from...
, Cebuella pygmaea. Mico species differ from the tamarins of the genus Saguinus in that Mico has enlarged incisor
Incisor
Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
teeth the same size as the canine teeth which are used for gouging holes in trees to extract exudate
Exudate
An exudate is any fluid that filters from the circulatory system into lesions or areas of inflammation. It can apply to plants as well as animals. Its composition varies but generally includes water and the dissolved solutes of the main circulatory fluid such as sap or blood...
s.
Species level taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
within Mico has also changed significantly in recent decades. Earlier authorities usually treated all as subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of M. argentata (including the bare-eared taxa) or M. humeralifer (including the hairy-eared taxa), or even suggested all were subspecies of M. argentatus. Recent authorities have pointed out that several of the taxa are highly distinctive, and following the phylogenetic species concept all previous subspecies were proposed raised to species status in 2001. This has generally been followed since then. Furthermore, 7 of the 14 currently recognized species were only described to science after 1990.
Species
- Rio Acari MarmosetRio Acari MarmosetThe Rio Acari marmoset, Mico acariensis, is a marmoset species endemic to Brazil.-References:...
, Mico acariensis - Manicore MarmosetManicore MarmosetThe Manicore marmoset is a marmoset species endemic to Brazil. It was discovered less than 200 miles from Manaus, near the Madeira River. Its body is light grey, with orange legs, a black tail, a pinkish face, and naked ears. It is about 9 inches long, excluding the tail, and it has a 15-inch...
, Mico manicorensis - Silvery MarmosetSilvery MarmosetThe silvery marmoset is a New World monkey that lives in Brazil, south and east of the Amazon basin. Compared to other marmosets, they have a very isolated habitat....
, Mico argentatus - White MarmosetWhite MarmosetThe white marmoset , or golden-white bare-ear marmoset, is a marmoset species endemic to Brazil.-References:...
, Mico leucippe - Emilia's MarmosetEmilia's MarmosetEmilia's marmoset , also known as Snethlage's marmoset, is a marmoset endemic to Brazil. It is found only in the Brazilian states of Pará and Mato Grosso. It was named to honour German-born Brazilian ornithologist Emilie Snethlage....
, Mico emiliae - Black-headed MarmosetBlack-headed MarmosetThe black-headed marmoset is a marmoset species endemic to Brazil.-References:*...
, Mico nigriceps - Marca's MarmosetMarca's MarmosetMarca's marmoset is a species of marmoset that is endemic to the Amazon near the Aripuanã River in Brazil. It is virtually unknown; in 2008 the IUCN noted that it had never been seen in the wild, though it has been observed since then....
, Mico marcai - Black-tailed MarmosetBlack-tailed MarmosetThe black-tailed marmoset is a species of New World monkey from central South America, where ranging from the south-central Amazon in Brazil, south through the Pantanal and eastern Bolivia, to the Chaco in far northern Paraguay...
, Mico melanura - Santarem MarmosetSantarem MarmosetThe Santarem marmoset , also known as a black and white tassel-ear marmoset is a marmoset endemic to Brazil. It is found in a very restricted area between the Rio Tapajos and lower Rio Madeira and Rio Roosevelt....
, Mico humeralifera - Maués MarmosetMaués MarmosetMaués marmoset is a marmoset endemic to Brazil. It is found only on the west bank of the Rio Maues-Acu, in the Amazonas state.-References:...
, Mico mauesi - Gold-and-white MarmosetGold-and-white MarmosetThe gold-and-white marmoset, Mico chrysoleuca, is a marmoset species endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Mico chrysoleuca - Hershkovitz's MarmosetHershkovitz's MarmosetHershkovitz's marmoset , also known as the Aripuanã marmoset is a marmoset species endemic to Brazil. The common name is a reference to American zoologist Philip Hershkovitz.-External links:*...
, Mico intermedia - Satéré MarmosetSatéré MarmosetThe Satéré marmoset is a marmoset species endemic to Brazil.-References:...
, Mico saterei - Rondon's MarmosetRondon's MarmosetRondon's marmoset , also known as the Rondônia marmoset, is a small species of monkey from the family Callitrichidae found in the south-western Amazon in Brazil. It is endemic to the state of Rondônia, and its range bordered by the Rio Mamoré, Rio Madeira, Rio Ji-Paraná, and the Serra dos Pacaás...
, Mico rondoni
Ecology
In general, Mico and Callithrix species tend to form larger groups and live within smaller home ranges, and thus live in higher population densities, than other Callitrichids. But these statistics can vary dramatically among various Mico species. M. argentatus tends to live in smaller home ranges (as small as 10 hectareHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s or less) than other Mico species.
Exudates, such as gum and sap, fruit, nectar and fungus make up the bulk of Mico's diet, but it also eats animal prey such as arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s, young birds, small lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s and frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s. They are specialized for exploiting exudates by their elongated, chisel-like lower incisors and a wide jaw gape that allows them to gouge bark of trees that produce gums. Their intestine
Intestine
In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
s also have an enlarged, complex cecum
Cecum
The cecum or caecum is a pouch, connecting the ileum with the ascending colon of the large intestine. It is separated from the ileum by the ileocecal valve or Bauhin's valve, and is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is also separated from the colon by the cecocolic...
that allows them to digest gums more efficiently than most other animals. Mico's ability to feed on exudates allows it to survive in areas where fruit is highly seasonal or not readily available.
Mico females generally gives birth to two or more infants at a time. They can ovulate and conceive within two to four weeks after giving birth, and ovulation is not inhibited by lactation
Lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process occurs in all female mammals, however it predates mammals. In humans the process of feeding milk is called breastfeeding or nursing...
. Females generally reach sexual maturity between 12 to 17 months, and males between 15 and 25 months.
Emilia's Marmoset, Mico emiliae, sometimes interacts with the Brown-mantled Tamarin
Brown-mantled Tamarin
The brown-mantled tamarin , also known as the saddleback tamarin or the Andean saddle-back tamarin, is a species of tamarin from South America...
, Saguinus fuscicollis.