Pygmy marmoset

Pygmy marmoset[1][2]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[3]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Callitrichidae
Genus:	Cebuella Gray, 1866
Species:	C. pygmaea
Binomial name
Cebuella pygmaea Spix, 1823
Geographic range
Synonyms
C. p. pygmaea: nigra Schinz, 1844 leoninus Bates, 1864

The pygmy marmoset or dwarf monkey (Cebuella pygmaea) is a New World monkey native to the rainforest understories of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia, with an altitudinal range of 200 to 940 m.^[3] It is most common in river edge forests, but also can be found in secondary forest and moderately disturbed forest.^[3] Despite its name, the pygmy marmoset is somewhat different from the typical marmosets, most of which are classified in the genera Callithrix and Mico; as such, it is accorded its own genus, Cebuella within the family Callitrichidae.^[2]

Skeleton

It is one of the smallest primates, and the smallest true monkey, with its body length ranging from 14 to 16 centimetres (5.5 to 6.3 in) (excluding the 15-to-20-centimetre (5.9 to 7.9 in) tail).^[4] Males weigh around 140 grams (4.9 oz), and females only 120 grams (4.2 oz). Nicknames for this monkey often refer to its diminutiveness, for example: mono de bolsillo ("pocket monkey"), leoncito ("little lion").

Pygmy marmosets live in groups made up of 1-2 adult males and 1-2 adult females, with a single breeding female and her offspring, ranging from 5-9 members. The breeding female gives birth to twins twice a year, and group members cooperate in carrying them.^[3] Young marmosets typically remain in the group until after 2 consecutive birth cycles. The pygmy marmoset uses special types of communication to give alerts and warning to its family members. These include chemical, vocal, and physical types of communication. A trill is used to communicate over long distance. A sharp warning whistle and a clicking sound signal danger to their family members. A J-call is a series of fast notes repeated by the caller and is used at medium distances.^{[citation needed]}

This monkey has a specialized diet of tree gum. It gnaws holes in the bark of appropriate trees and vines with its specialized dentition to elicit the production of gum. When the gum production resources, usually just 1-2 trees, of its home range (0.1 to 0.4 ha) become depleted, a group moves to a new home range. Brown-mantled tamarins are generally sympatric with pygmy marmosets and often raid pygmy marmosets' gum holes.^[3]

Pygmy marmosets live 11-12 years in the wild, but in zoos, they live into their early twenties.

There are two subspecies of the pygmy marmoset:^[1][2]

• Cebuella pygmaea pygmaea – Western pygmy marmoset
• Cebuella pygmaea niveiventris – Eastern pygmy marmoset

References

External links

Data related to Pygmy Marmoset at Wikispecies Media related to Cebuella pygmaea at Wikimedia Commons

• Twin albino pygmy marmosets born in Sweden
• Primate Info Net Callithrix pygmaea Factsheet