Animal Info - White-eared Marmoset

(Other Names: Buffy Tufted-ear Marmoset, Marmouset à Oreilles Blanches, Oustiti à Oreilles Blanches, Oustiti Oreillard, Sagüi-de-Serra-Escurro)

Callithrix aurita (C. jacchus a.)

Status: Endangered

1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of Distribution, Threats and Reasons for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Weight, Habitat, Age to Maturity, Gestation Period, Birth Rate, Maximum Age, Diet, Behavior, Social Organization, Density and Range)
5. References

Profile

Picture: White-eared Marmoset (195 Kb GIF) (Primate Info Net)

The white-eared marmoset is a small monkey weighing 260 - 320 g (9.3 - 11 oz). It lives in montane regions of the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil. Its diet includes insects, fruit and tree sap. The white-eared marmoset is diurnal and arboreal. At night the members of a group sleep together in dense vegetation or on a tree branch. It occurs in small groups of 2 - 13. It is monogamous. A dominant mated pair in a troop maintains its status through aggressive interaction.

The white-eared marmoset is found only in a small area of the Atlantic coastal forest of southeastern Brazil, in coastal and lowland Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo. It has been used in biomedical research and captured for the pet trade. Its Atlantic coastal forest habitat is extremely fragmented and continues to be threatened with further loss.

Tidbits

*** The white-eared marmoset is considered by some to be a subspecies, Callithrix jacchus aurita, of the tufted-ear marmoset, the "Callithrix jacchus group."

*** The white-eared marmoset bites holes in the bark of trees, then licks the gum that seeps into these holes. About one-third of its time is devoted to this feeding activity. As a result a tree may be riddled with hundreds of these holes (Emmons & Fear 1997).

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

1970's: Vulnerable
1982 - 1994: Endangered
1996 - 2004: Endangered (Criteria: B1+2abcde, C2a) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the White-eared Marmoset Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in Brazil (IUCN 2004).

History of Distribution:

The white-eared marmoset is found only in a small area of the Atlantic coastal forest of southeastern Brazil, in coastal and lowland Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo.

Distribution Map #1 (12 Kb) (InfoNatura)
Distribution Map #2 (257 Kb JPEG) (Inst. Ciên. Biol.)

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

The white-eared marmoset has been used in biomedical research and captured for the pet trade. Its Atlantic coastal forest habitat is extremely fragmented and continues to be threatened with further loss.

Data on Biology and Ecology

Weight:

The white-eared marmoset weighs 260 - 320 g (9.3 - 11 oz).

Habitat:

The white-eared marmoset is found in montane regions of the Atlantic coastal forest.

The white-eared marmoset is found in the Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl. 2005).

Age to Maturity:

Female marmosets mature at 20 - 24 months; males at 9 - 13 months.

Gestation Period:

140 - 148 days.

Birth Rate:

Litter size is 1 - 4 young.

Maximum Age:

Marmosets live up to 10 years in the wild and 16 years in captivity.

Diet:

The diet of the white-eared marmoset includes insects, fruit and tree sap.

Behavior:

The white-eared marmoset is diurnal and arboreal. At night the members of a group sleep together in dense vegetation or on a tree branch.

Social Organization:

The white-eared marmoset occurs in small groups of 2 - 13. It is monogamous, and a dominant mated pair in a troop maintains its status through aggressive interaction.

Density and Range:

A group occupies a territory of 0.5 - 5 hectares (1.3 - 13 acres) (Emmons & Fear 1997).

References

Burton & Pearson 1987, Cons. Intl. 2005, Emmons & Fear 1997, InfoNatura, Inst. Ciên. Biol., IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Macdonald 1984, Nowak & Paradiso 1983, Primate Info Net, Rylands et al. 1997

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