MARMOSETS

The marmoset family, Callitrichidae, includes four genera, at least fifty-one species, and twenty subspecies.

AMAZONIAN MARMOSETS

Genus: Mico

Photo credit: ©Sidnei Dantas/iNaturalist/Creative Commons

Mico humeralifer

CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED

Black-and-white tassel-eared marmosets occur in northern Brazil, in the dense forests of the Amazon in Para’ and Amazonas states, south of the Rio Amazonas, and along the western margin of the Rio Tapajo. They occupy the lower canopies of the forest, between 32 and 49 feet (10 and 15m) high. Heavy rains cause water…

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Mico melanurus

CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED

First described in 1812, black-tailed marmosets are native to the South American countries of Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil, east of the Rio Aripuana. They live in a wide array of biomes, including the deciduous forests of eastern Bolivia, the Pantanal wetlands, the dry forests of Paraguay, the Amazon rainforest, and the…

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Photo credit: Richard Hoyer/Creative Commons

Mico emiliae

CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN

Emilia’s marmosets, also called Snethlage’s marmosets, are endemic to the Brazilian states of Para and Mato Grosso in the Amazon basin, living near river banks, inland forests, and Atlantic coastal forests. Their home territory is about 24 to 98 acres (10 to 40 hectares). They can live near human communities, suggesting that they are….

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Mico chrysoleucos

CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN

The golden-white tassel-ear marmoset (Mico chrysoleucos), more simply known as the gold-and-white marmoset and sometimes referred to as silky marmoset, is a tiny monkey native to Brazil, residing in the eastern region of the state of Amazonas within the Amazon rainforest in an area known as “the arc of deforestation”…

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Mico schneideri

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

Schneider’s marmoset is endemic to Mato Grosso State in Brazil. This monkeys’ habitat is in the ‘arc of deforestation’ which is a section of land that spans over 193,000 miles (500 km2), and is experiencing the highest rates of deforestation in the Amazon. Their range is limited, as it is bordered by the Juruena River in the…

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Mico argentatus

CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN

Silvery marmosets inhabit lowland forests (under 650 feet or 200 meters above sea level) in the Amazon Basin. The Amazon River bounds their distribution to the north, the Tapajos River to the west, and the Toncantins River to the east. Human infrastructure and agriculture have further fragmented the marmosets’ native…

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ATLANTIC MARMOSETS

Genus: Callithrix

Callithrix penicillata

CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN

The black-tufted marmoset, sometimes called the black-pencilled marmoset and known as Mico-estrela in Portuguese, inhabits numerous areas throughout Brazil. Marmosets are typically resilient creatures who have the ability to thrive in many habitats, including busy cities like Rio de Janeiro, where black-tufted…

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Callithrix flaviceps

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Native to Brazil, the rare buffy-headed marmoset occurs in the Serra da Mantiqueira (Mantiqueira Mountain range) south of the Rio Doce in southern Espírito Santo, its range here reaching the state boundary of Rio de Janeiro. Other southeastern populations have been reported in the municipality

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Photo credit: Jack Hynes/Creative Commons

Callithrix aurita

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The buffy-tufted-ear marmoset, also called the white-eared marmoset, is endemic to the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro of southeastern Brazil, within their montane rainforests of the inland plateau, at chilly dry-season altitudes of up to 4,265 feet (1,300 m). Multiple studies from 1982 to 1998 were carried out to better..

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Callithrix jacchus

CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), also known as white-tufted ear marmosets, are native to the northeastern region of Brazil. Due to the ongoing destruction of their original habitat in the Atlantic coastal forest, common marmosets live in a range of climates and ecosystems, spreading inland through… 

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Callithrix kuhlii

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

Wied’s marmoset, also known as the Wied’s black-tufted ear marmoset, is a New World monkey that lives in the coastal regions of Southwest Brazil. Wied’s marmosets are adaptable monkeys and can live in a variety of forest types, but they prefer tropical and subtropical forests. They occur in lowland and sub-montane…

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Callithrix geoffroyi

CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN

The white-headed marmoset is endemic to Brazil and can be found in the eastern coast states of Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, and Bahia. They can live at altitudes of up to 4,179 feet (1,274 meters) and as low as 1,640 feet (500 meters) and can be found in submontane forests, deciduous forests, and densely forested areas. They…

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DWARF MARMOSETS

Genus: Callibella

Callibella humilis

CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN

The black-crowned dwarf marmoset, also known as Roosmalen’s dwarf marmoset (after Marc Van Roosmalen, the renowned and embattled Dutch scientist/ primatologist credited with this primate’s discovery), and sometimes called the black-crowned pygmy marmoset, is native to Brazil, residing in the Amazon…

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GOELDI'S MARMOSETS

Genus: Callimico

Callimico goeldii

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

The Goeldi’s monkey, also known as the Goeldi’s marmoset, the Goeldi’s tamarin, or callimico, is a member of the Callitrichidae family. Endemic to South America, this evasive and shy “mystery monkey” is dispersed throughout the upper Amazonian rainforests in localized, but fragmented groups. Suspected population decline and…

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PYGMY MARMOSETS

Genus: Cebuella

Photo: Eastern Pygmy Marmoset/© alonsolopezph/iNaturalist/Creative Commons

Cebuella niveiventris

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

The eastern pygmy marmoset, also known as the white-bellied pygmy marmoset, is found in the northwestern Brazilian states of Amazonas and Acre, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. Within their range, they inhabit gallery forests (those formed along riverbanks that flow into otherwise open areas, such as deserts or savannas) at…

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Cebuella pygmaea

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

Pygmy marmosets are widely distributed throughout the Amazon forest, spanning from Rio Caquetá in Colombia, Rio Madeira in Brazil, to Río Mayo and the Río Huallaga in Peru. They can reliably be found in extensive rainforests along the tributaries of the Amazon river and are capable of thriving in different forest…

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