Pygmy Marmoset
Overview
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...
native to the rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
canopies
Canopy (forest)
In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant community or crop, formed by plant crowns.For forests, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms .Sometimes the term canopy is used to refer to the extent...
of western 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...
, southeastern Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, eastern Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, eastern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and northern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. It is one of the smallest primates, and the smallest true monkey, with its body length ranging from 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 ) (excluding the 15 centimetre tail). Males weigh around 140 grams (4.9 oz), and females only 120 grams (4.2 oz).
Despite its name, the pygmy marmoset is somewhat different from the typical 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, most of which are classified in the genera 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...
and Mico
Mico (genus)
Mico is a genus of New World monkeys of the family Callitrichidae, the family containing marmosets and tamarins. The genus was formerly considered a subgenus of the genus Callithrix.-Taxonomy:...
; as such, it is accorded its own genus
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
, Cebuella.
Nicknames for this monkey often refer to its diminutiveness, for example: mono de bolsillo ("pocket monkey"), leoncito ("little lion"), and finger monkey.
The pygmy marmoset uses special types of communication to give alerts and warning to its family members.
Unanswered Questions
