Mammals · Primates · Callitrichidae

Common Marmoset

Callithrix jacchus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

It practises cooperative polyandry: a family group is usually one female and two males who share the raising of the young.

Weight

300 g – 500 g

Size

up to 20 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Family group

Lives in small family groups with close bonds.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestOmnivore Diurnal Family group Rainforest Mammal

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Fun facts

It is one of the fastest-ageing primates known, and widely used as a biomedical model for the study of human ageing.
It eats tree gum and sap, insects, fruit and nectar.
It is one of the smallest monkeys in the world, weighing only 300-500 grams as an adult.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Coastal Atlantic forest, dry Caatinga scrub and Cerrado savannah of north-eastern Brazil
Birth weight: No precise birth weight found (twins together can come to as much as 40% of the mother's body weight)
Size at birth: Tiny and dependent at birth, carried by both parents
Sexual maturity: 15-18 months
Gestation / incubation: 142-150 days (~4.8-5 months)
Litter / clutch size: Non-identical twins in the great majority of births, with up to 2 litters a year
Lifespan in captivity: Documented record of up to 22.8 years in captivity

Sources consulted: Wiley (Aging Phenotypes study); AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); ScienceDirect Topics; New England Primate Conservancy; Animalia.bio; Animal Diversity Web; PMC (litter size study, feeding behavior aging study)