1.The pygmy marmoset is a small New World monkey native to rainforests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. It is notable for being the smallest monkey and one of the smallest primates in the world at just over 100 grams (3.5 oz). It is generally found in evergreen and river edge forests and is a gum-feeding specialist, or a gummivore.
2.The pygmy marmoset can be found in much of the western Amazon Basin, in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The western pygmy marmoset occurs in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, eastern Peru, southern Colombia, and north-eastern Ecuador. The eastern pygmy marmoset is also found in Amazonas, but also in Acre, Brazil, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. The distribution of both subspecies is
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often limited by rivers. It typically lives in the understory of the mature evergreen forests and often near rivers. Population density is correlated with food tree availability. It can be found between ground level and about 66 ft into the trees but generally does not enter the top of the canopy. 3.This monkey has a specialized diet of tree gum. It gnaws holes in the bark of appropriate trees and vines with its specialized dentition to elicit the production of gum. When the sap puddles up in the hole, it laps it up with its tongue. It also lies in wait for insects, especially butterflies, which are attracted to the sap holes. It supplements its diet with nectar and fruit. A group's home range is 0.1 to 0.4 hectares and feeding is usually concentrated on one or two trees at a time. When those become depleted, a group moves to a new home range. Brown-mantled tamarins are generally sympatric with pygmy marmosets and often raid pygmy marmosets' gum holes. Pygmy marmosets have adapted insect-like claws, known as tegulae, to engage in a high degree of claw-clinging behaviors associated with plant exudate exploitation. 4. Marmosets are partially nocturnal due to the night reproductive system but for the most part they stay out in the light and catch food for their family. The marmosets don't need to worry about being spotted in the day because of their camouflage which makes it safer to go out in the mid day to dawn. The Pigmy Marmoset does not migrate, and it does not hibernate. During the winter, they star very active. 5.
Communication is big part of the social aspects for life as the Pygmy Marmoset. They use their vocal calls to chatter, to tell of danger, to encourage mating, and to encourage their young. They make clicking sounds in addition to loud calls. They can make short calls for those group members close by. They can also make long calls for those that are further away. These Monkeys don’t live in large groups, they will have 12 members at the most. They really do enjoy bonding and spend all their free time with each other. There show a great deal of sadness when one of their members dies. For the most part they are timid and get along with each other well. They can be aggressive with each other if they need to. Yet they will fight to their own death if they have to in order for them to defend themselves and others in the group. Researchers still want to conduct more research in the area of the behavior of the Pygmy Marmoset. However, it is very difficult to do so without upsetting their natural …show more content…
environment. 6. The pygmy marmoset is a non-seasonal breeder and usually gives birth to twins once or twice a year. The pygmy marmoset is usually monogamous though there is some variation within the species in terms of breeding systems. Polyandry also occurs as male marmosets are responsible for carrying the infants on their backs. Having a second male to carry the offspring can be beneficial as marmoset litters are often twins and decreases the cost to any particular male. The daily range of the pygmy marmoset, however, is relatively small, which decreases the rate of polyandry. 7.
Infant pygmy marmosets, along with their parents, twin, and other siblings, form cooperative care groups. Babbling, or vocalizing, by the infant marmoset is a key part of its relationships with its family members and is a major part of its development. As the infant develops, the babbling gradually changes to resemble and eventually become adult vocalization. There are many similarities between the development of vocalization in infant pygmy marmosets and speech in infant humans. Vocalizing gives the infant advantages such as increased care and allows the entire family to coordinate their activities without seeing each other.These Monkeys don’t live in large groups, they will have 12 members at the most. They really do enjoy bonding and spend all their free time with each
other. 8. The pygmy marmoset is well known for its communication abilities including an intricate system of calls. The trill is used during feeding, foraging, and when travelling and the group is close together. The J-call is a series of fast notes repeated by the caller and is used at medium distances. Both calls are used as contact calls. The long call is used when the group is spread out over distances greater than ten meters or in response to a neighboring group. The pygmy marmoset uses the trill for short distance communication, J-calls for intermediate distances, and long calls for long distances; these have respectively decreasing frequencies. It is capable of distinguishing both the type of call and the individual making the call. Research based on audio playback tests shows that calls recorded from different individuals in captivity varied significantly in all seven auditory parameters analyzed for each type of call. Behavioral responses to trills were greatest when the caller was the dominant male of the group. Responses to J-calls were greatest when the caller was the monkey's mate or a same-sex monkey from outside the group. Varying responses to individual callers were only observed when the call was given spontaneously from another animal rather than being played back from a recording, with one exception. That exception was that male monkeys responded to playbacks of their own calls differently from those of other monkeys, when the call was played back from a familiar location. It is thought the pygmy marmoset reacts at first to the type of call that is being made and then adjusts its behavior slightly to react to the specific individual that is making the call. This allows the marmoset to react appropriately to all calls but show some variation when the call gives extra information. 9. The fur colour is a mixture of brownish-gold, grey, and black on its back and head and yellow, orange, and tawny on its underparts. Its tail has black rings and its face has flecks of white on its cheeks and a white vertical line between its eyes. It has many adaptations for arboreal living including the ability to rotate its head 180 degrees and sharp claw-like nails used to cling to branches and trees. Its dental morphology is adapted to feeding on gum, with specialised incisors that are used to gouge trees and stimulate sap flow. Its cecum is larger than usual to allow for the greater period of time gum takes to break down in the stomach. The pygmy marmoset walks on all four limbs and can leap up to five meters between branches. 10. The pygmy marmoset is one of the world's smallest primates, and is the smallest true monkey, with a head-body length ranging from 117 to 152 millimetres and a tail of 172 to 229 millimetres. It lives in the rainforest along with its group of 2-10 Pigmy Marmoset. This small creature is used as a test subject because monkeys are the closest organisms to humans. Also, this small and cute creature can be a nice pet that is flexible,agile, and obedient.
"Pygmy Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus)" (b). EDGE of Existence. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. .
As stated in the article, “each ape’s social success depends on what other group members are up to, natural selection has favored the capacity for social maneuvers and [superior intelligence]” (2). Natural selection also favors apes because they are not ones to dwell or hold grudges on other apes when they get into feuds. Frans de Waal, a primatologist at the Arnheim Zoo in the Netherlands, shows how natural selection has also promoted the ability to strengthen the relationships of others. In his example, he gives an account of Mama, the most influential female in the colony, who would reconcile other apes after they got into
Tanya Lewis Staff Writer. Chimps Learn Tool Use by Watching Others. 30 January 2013. Report. 25 April 2014. .
they also live in other types of forests in Madagascar. Lemurs can only be found living in
Primates housed in organizations like zoos and laboratories have developed catastrophic behavior; due to the lack of their natural habitat and the lose of freedom to pursue their own lives. Chimpanzees have directed themself to attempt abnormal and often revolting behavior. During their life in captivity they exibit biting themselves, drinking urine, eating feces, pating genitals, rocking, plucking hair, and fumpling niples (Birkett and Newton-Fisher). Another factor that gives chimpanzees
Thesis Statement: Despite the rampant protests of animal welfare organizations on encaging primates in zoos since primates typically show abnormal behavior, zoos in the National Capital Region claim that human interaction and enrichment programs help alleviate the stress and trauma primates experience.
Snowdon, C. T., Brown, C. H., & Petersen, M. R. (1982). Primate communication. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press].
Females receive no help from adult males in caring for their young. Instead, a female will have other female "friends" to help carry and watch over the young as the mother forages. These "friends" are usually offspring from previous years, which do not have young of their own. Since the monkey uses all four of its legs when walking and climbing, the new born babies ride on the mother’s back by gripping her fur, when the mother stop, she will hold her baby with both arms.
Celli, Maura L., Satoshi Hirata, and Masaki Tomonaga. "Socioecological Influences On Tool Use In Captive Chimpanzees." International Journal Of Primatology25.6 (2004): 1267-1281. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Chimpanzees portray their emotions through a number of facial expressions and mannerisms. Just like humans, they undergo mood swings, jealous rages, and laughter. For instance, Goodall observed during her research that a male gorilla “would threaten [me] with an upward and backward movement jerk of his head…” Some of their emotions are easy to read, while at other times we have to look at multiple places on their faces to understand their feelings. A chimpanzee also uses its facial expressions and sounds to communicate with each other, such as hoots and yells.
Chimpanzees (Figure 1) are the closest living relatives to us, and they share 99 percent of our DNA (1). Chimpanzees have distinct group territoriality. Male chimpanzees “patrol” near the boundary between the two ranges, at that time they move very carefully and quietly, and they can cease to listen and observe the range of their neighbors. Patrolling individuals are likely to face cruel and violent attacks, injuries, and even deaths. Intense excitement and aggressive display can occur if the two parties of two communities encounter each other. Usually, the larger group holds its ground, and interaction between different chimpanzees communities may also lead to gang attack. Expanding the community range is necessary to their social organizations, the males cooperation can defend the territory and increase the reproductive rates of the resident females by excluding female and male competitors. Body contact is common in their social life such as grooming (1). Usually, chimpanzees groom each other as a way to show harmony and solidarity in their society (Figure 2). Grooming each other demonstrates the deep bonds and close relationship between them. In addition, they can even hug, hold hands, touch, kiss each other as a way of emotional expression (2).
Language is commonly held to be the province of humans, but other inhabitants of earth possess their own forms of communication. Birds, dolphins, and whales are some of those that have a language. Primates also use vocal communication with each other. Their utterances have varied uses and volumes, with each primate’s voice being distinct just as human voices are. These unique calls have given researchers insight into the social workings of primate groups. The very fact that primates have a language offers insight into the evolution of language and calls into question what the term human truly means.
Primates have long been understood to have a distinct connection with other animals of its kind, perhaps one of the reasons why their behavior has been most often than not closely related to how humans interact in social groups. However, between different emerging species, it could be analyzed how competition becomes a vital part of the connection they share between each other. This is the reason why it was easier to preserve species of different kinds of primates even within the same locations of habitat. Cross-breeding was not that common among primates due to being highly territorial in nature. Male primates often direct their groups specifically having a distinct distance from other types of other primates. This is why preserving intact social groups among monkeys have been a distinct characteristic of the animal, giving them a greater chance of propagating and preserving their own groups surviving within a specific habitat. When instances of environmental imbalance occurs, primates often move as groups, hence bringing their whole clan and community along with them as they follow their leaders find viable locations to become their new home.
In "Affectional Response in the Infant Monkey", Harry Harlow demonstrated the significance of affectional needs from caregivers to develop secure attachment and
Their fission-fusion social organization includes small, temporary subgroups that travel and forage independently within their community’s home range5 (Fig.1). In East African chimpanzees, adult females are less gregarious than adult males and represent the dispersing sex2. As mothers, they often spend much of their time accompanied only by their dependent offspring6. Meanwhile, adult males are highly social and philopatric; they live in larger groups and form enduring social bonds with individuals of the same sex7. Chimpanzees have a male-dominated society in which rank is a constant battle; therefore males can strongly profit from coalitions. Cooperating in home range defense activities, hunting, and obtaining access to sexually receptive females have an advantage in terms of maximizing their fitness, including increasing their reproductive success and maintaining their social status2. By contrast, females were found to avoid other females to decrease competition for food and