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Callithrix jacchuswhite-tufted-ear marmoset

By Sarah Cover

Ge­o­graphic Range

Com­mon mar­mosets are New World pri­mates. Their orig­i­nal range was lim­ited to north east­ern Brazil, but habi­tat de­struc­tion in that area is wide­spread. Wild pop­u­la­tions of the com­mon mar­moset are now lo­cated in south east­ern Brazil­ian coastal rain­for­est. (Parker, 1990)

Habi­tat

Com­mon mar­mosets can be found around the edges of the for­est as op­posed to deep within it. They live in many for­est types, in­clud­ing plan­ta­tions. (Parker)

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

The com­mon mar­moset has a body length of about 12 - 15 cm, with a tail length of 29.5 - 35 cm. Dis­tin­guish­ing char­ac­ter­is­tics of com­mon mar­mosets in­clude white ear tufts, and a white blaze on the fore­head. Their head fur is usu­ally dark brown, while their back fur is a grey­ish brown color with light trans­verse strip­ing. They also have very pro­nounced trans­verse tail stripes.

(Parker, 1990)

  • Range mass
    300 to 360 g
    10.57 to 12.69 oz
  • Average basal metabolic rate
    0.848 W
    AnAge

Re­pro­duc­tion

It was orig­i­nally thought that com­mon mar­mosets were monog­a­mous crea­tures, form­ing pair bonds and rais­ing their off­spring as a team. This was be­lieved be­cause cap­tive mar­mosets only bred suc­cess­fully in a pair sit­u­a­tion. How­ever, it has re­cently been dis­cov­ered that the com­mon mar­moset, along with other species of mar­mosets and tamarins, is ac­tu­ally polyan­drous (one fe­male mates with mul­ti­ple males). In the wild, groups of two males and a fe­male form in order to mate and rear off­spring. The fe­male mates nearly equally with both males while in es­trus.

After ges­tat­ing for ap­prox­i­mately 148 days, the fe­male gives birth to the off­spring, usu­ally twins (Smuts et al., 1987).

  • Average number of offspring
    2
  • Average number of offspring
    2
    AnAge
  • Average gestation period
    148 days
  • Average gestation period
    144 days
    AnAge
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    Sex: female
    477 days
    AnAge
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    Sex: male
    382 days
    AnAge

The twins com­bined can equal up to 40% of the fe­male's body weight. The males as­sist the fe­male in car­ry­ing the in­fants, and it is gen­er­ally thought that polyandry in this species is due to the large size of these ba­bies and the en­ergy needed to raise them.

  • Parental Investment
  • pre-fertilization
    • provisioning
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • male
      • female
  • pre-independence
    • protecting
      • male
      • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Be­hav­ior

Com­mon mar­mosets are di­ur­nal, and gen­er­ally live in groups of 2-13 in­di­vid­u­als which may in­clude mated polyan­drous groups and their off­spring. The most out­stand­ing fea­ture of com­mon mar­moset be­hav­ior is non­ma­ter­nal in­fant care (also found in other cal­litrichid pri­mates). Males and sib­lings are quick to as­sist mother com­mon mar­mosets with in­fant care, and in­deed, it seems that this help is nec­es­sary for in­fant sur­vival. (Smuts et al., 1987)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Food Habits

While the com­mon mar­moset gen­er­ally feeds on tree sap, this species has also been found to eat in­sects, spi­ders, fruit, flow­ers, and nec­tar. Less fre­quently, they have been ob­served feed­ing on small lizards, bird's eggs, nestlings, and frogs.

(Parker, 1990)

  • Primary Diet
  • herbivore
    • eats sap or other plant foods
  • Animal Foods
  • birds
  • amphibians
  • reptiles
  • eggs
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods
  • Plant Foods
  • fruit
  • nectar
  • flowers

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

When zoos are able to ob­tain these tiny crea­tures, they are very pop­u­lar at­trac­tions.

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Be­cause they have adapted to life on the edge of the forests of south east­ern Brazil, com­mon mar­mosets have also learned to take ad­van­tages of the plan­ta­tions in the area. In greater num­bers, they may be­come pests to human farm­ers. (Smuts et al., 1987)

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Com­mon mar­mosets are one of the most en­dan­gered cal­litrichid species. The com­plete de­struc­tion of their habi­tat in north east­ern Brazil has se­verely threat­ened the species, but their num­bers in re­serves in south east­ern Brazil seem to be grow­ing.

(Smuts et al., 1987)

Other Com­ments

It is only very re­cently that hu­mans have been able to ob­tain any in­for­ma­tion about this species at all. Be­cause of their rar­ity and size, they are dif­fi­cult to study in the wild, and com­par­isons be­tween cap­tive and field stud­ies have proved that their be­hav­ior varies be­tween the two. (Evans, 1986)

Con­trib­u­tors

Sarah Cover (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (ed­i­tor), Mu­seum of Zo­ol­ogy, Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

arboreal

Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

cooperative breeder

helpers provide assistance in raising young that are not their own

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

herbivore

An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

polyandrous

Referring to a mating system in which a female mates with several males during one breeding season (compare polygynous).

rainforest

rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

viviparous

reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.

Ref­er­ences

Evans, S. 1986. The Pair Bond of the Com­mon Mar­moset (Cal­lithrix jac­chus jac­chus). Pp. 51-65 in D Taub, F King, eds. Cur­rent Per­spec­tives in Pri­mate So­cial Dy­nam­ics. New York: Van Nos­trand Rein­hold Com­pany.

Parker, S. 1990. Grz­imek's En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Mam­mals Vol 2. New York: Mc­Graw-Hill Inc.

Smuts, B., R. Sey­farth, D. Ch­eney, R. Wrang­ham, T. Struh­saker. 1987. Pri­mate So­ci­eties. Chicago: The Uni­ver­sity of Chicago Press.

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Classification

  • Kingdom Animalia animals
  • Phylum Chordata chordates
  • Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
  • Class Mammalia mammals
  • Order Primates primates
  • Family Cebidae marmosets, tamarins, capuchins, and squirrel monkeys
  • Genus Callithrix short-tusked marmosets, titis, and true marmosets
  • Species Callithrix jacchus white-tufted-ear marmoset