Marmosets and Tamarins

Marmosets and tamarins are a family of New World monkeys, the smallest of the simian primates. They are arboreal and eat insects, fruit, and the sap or gum from trees, occasionally, they take small vertebrates. Marmosets and tamarins typically live in small, territorial groups of about five or six animals. Their social organization is unique among primates, and is called a "cooperative polyandrous group". This communal breeding system involves groups of multiple males and females, but only one female is reproductively active. Females mate with more than one male and each shares the responsibility of carrying the offspring. They are the only primates that regularly produce twins and unlike other male primates, male marmosets and tamarins generally provide as much parental care as females. They carry, protect, feed, comfort, and even play with offspring. Marmosets are native to South America and have also been occasionally spotted in Central America and southern Mexico. They are sometimes kept as pets. Tamarins range from southern Central America through central South America. Due to their small size compared to other primates, they are an easy target for predatory birds, snakes, and mammals.