Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

marmoset

 
Dictionary: mar·mo·set   (mär'mə-sĕt', -zĕt') pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
n.
Any of various small clawed monkeys of the genera Callithrix and Cebuella, found in tropical forests of the Americas and having soft dense fur, tufted ears, and long tails.

[Middle English marmusette, a kind of small monkey, from Old French marmouset, grotesque figurine, alteration (influenced by marmouser, to murmur), of marmotte, marmot. See marmot.]


Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: marmoset
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Any species of arboreal, diurnal, long-tailed South American monkey (family Callitrichidae) classified in two groups: eight species with short tusks (lower canine teeth), called marmosets, and 25 with long tusks, called tamarins. Marmosets move in a quick, jerky manner and eat insects and sometimes fruit and small animals. Members of the common marmoset genus Callithrix are 6 – 10 in. (15 – 25 cm) long, excluding the 10 – 16-in. (25 – 40-cm) tail. The dense, silky fur is white, reddish, or blackish; the ears are generally tufted. Marmosets have been kept as pets since the early 17th century.

For more information on marmoset, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: marmoset
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia
marmoset (mär'məzĕt'), name for many of the small, squirrellike New World monkeys of the family Callithricidae. Members of this family are all found in tropical South America, with one species found also in Central America. They range in size from the pygmy marmoset, which is 8 in. (20 cm) long including the tail and weighs 3 oz (85 g), to species about the size of house rats. Many of the larger species are called tamarins. Most marmosets and tamarins are brightly colored, and many are ornamented with manes, ear tufts, or mustaches. Their tails are long and furry. Day active, gregarious animals, they scurry through trees and chatter in shrill voices. They feed on plant matter as well as on insects and other small animals. Females usually bear twins, and it is claimed that in some species the male takes a large part in the care of the young. Most spectacular is the golden lion marmoset, with flaming, golden fur and a luxuriant mane. Marmosets have long been valued as pets. They are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Primates, family Callithricidae.

Veterinary Dictionary: marmoset
Top
Home > Library > Animal Life > Veterinary Dictionary

A small (1 to 2 ft), yellow-green monkey; they are fruit-eaters, arboreal and diurnal. Called also Callithrix spp., Leontideus spp., Saguinus spp.

  • common m. — South American monkey 9 inches long, soft fur, bushy tail, hair black at base, yellow in the middle, white at the tip. Called also Callithrix jacchus.
Wikipedia: Marmoset
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the new world monkey. For other uses, see Marmoset (disambiguation).
Marmosets[1][2]
Common Marmoset
(Callithrix jacchus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Callitrichidae
in part

Marmosets are the 25 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 are about 20 centimetres (8 in) 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 °C (7 °F) in a day.

According to recent research, marmosets exhibit germline chimerism, which is not known to occur in nature in any other primate.[3]

Contents

Ecological

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.

Social

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.

Human cultural references

Callithrix comes from ancient Greek and means "beautiful fur." Marmoset is from the French marmouset, uncertain etymology.

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).

Species list

References

  1. ^ Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M.. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 129-133. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ^ Rylands AB and Mittermeier RA (2009). "The Diversity of the New World Primates (Platyrrhini)". in Garber PA, Estrada A, Bicca-Marques JC, Heymann EW, Strier KB. South American Primates: Comparative Perspectives in the Study of Bahavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Springer. pp. 23–54. ISBN 978-0-387-78704-6. 
  3. ^ Ross, C.N., French, J.A., and Ortí, G. (2007). "Germ-line chimerism and paternal care in marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii)". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 6278. doi:10.1073/pnas.0607426104. PMID 17389380. 

External links

Search Wikispecies Wikispecies has information related to: Marmoset
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Callithrix

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Translations: Marmoset
Top
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Translations

Dansk (Danish)
n. - [zool.] egernabe

Nederlands (Dutch)
kleine Zuid-Amerikaanse aapjes

Français (French)
n. - ouistiti

Deutsch (German)
n. - (Zool.) Marmosette, Krallenaffe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ.) απαλός, μαρμοζέτα, σκιουροπίθηκος

Italiano (Italian)
apale (zool.)

Português (Portuguese)
n. - sagüi (m)

Русский (Russian)
мартышка

Español (Spanish)
n. - mono tití

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - marmosett, vit silkesapa

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
小猿

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 小猿

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 원숭이의 일종

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - キヌザル

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قرد أمريكي صغير‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מרמוזט (קיפוף)‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Marmoset".  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more