Family: Cebidae
About the size of a squirrel, marmosets also have white chests and bellies, while their backs and tails are covered in long black and brown fur. They have claw-like nails, which are essential for jumping from tree to tree in their forest habitat.
Titi Monkey Diet
These tiny primates are one of three Amazonian species of marmoset. Marmosets live in a small wooded area in northwestern Colombia. They forage through the middle layer of the canopy in search of the fruits and insects that make up much of their diet, although they have also been known to eat larger vertebrates.
Marmosets also play an important role in disseminating seeds in tropical ecosystems. These marmosets typically eat seeds that are quite large, even larger than those eaten by their larger primates, such as chimpanzees and baboons. Those seeds are eventually digested into feces which has proven to be an excellent fertilizer with a high success rate for germination.
Threats to its survival
Marmosets are critically endangered. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, 20,000 to 30,000 cotton-top tamarins were exported to the United States for biomedical research, specifically as subjects of studies related to colon cancer. Although it is now illegal to import marmosets into the US, they are still used for medical research, and captive marmosets outnumber wild ones.
Today, deforestation and human activity represent the most significant threats to the survival of marmosets. Colombia is losing its rainforest at a dramatic rate due to development and agriculture; in fact, the South American country has recorded the fourth largest loss of rainforest in the world.
Reproduction
Although female marmosets can mate with more than one male, matings are often monogamous, that is, with only one partner, even for life.
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