Scientific name:
Callithricidae

Natural spread:
means, South America

marmosets lives in the rain-forests south, and Central America, in 20 types. With this species-fullness, they belong to the mold-richest group of the primates. Systematically viewed, one structures the marmosets into the Marmosetten (types Callithrix and Cebuella) and the Tamarine (types Saguinus and Leonthopithecus).

The maybe most known marmoset is the white-tuft-monkey (Callithrix jacchus). The ears of a wreath of stiff hair are tuft-nicely with it rearranges. Our type is south as Kulturfolger from its Brazilian home over many other places - and even Central America been spread, and the animal-trade brought it to Europe also already since 1811. Our knowledge about the social-structure with white-tuft-monkeys and other marmosets essentially comes from animals in human-care.

Social-behavior The groups seem from one male each and a position-resembles to be led females, with what develops in the groups two after the sex of separated rankings. The position-height becomes through Beißkämpfe as well as. Drohaktionen established and held solidly. Also the most different Imponiergesten like Zähnedrohen, ear-tabs, are used Körperaufrichten for it to the "cat-back" and finally marking of certain places in the terrain with the scent-secretion of sex-glands. In accordance with the two rankings, these confrontations almost exclusively between animals find resembles sex instead of.

Especially remarkably, the position-ritual of these animals is through the Präsentierung of the genitals, that is offered the Rangniederen with the raising the tail to the subsequent olfactory-inspection. The so threatened opponent approaches the presenting upper in anxiously ducked attitude and discharges chirping fear-lutes on that occasion. Sometimes, strongly inferior colleagues dare to sniff only the tail-top of the boss. Male Ranghöhere still signal its social status optically through its shining-colorfully colored scrotum in addition.

As with many monkeys, so the mutual skin-care (social fur-care) plays also with the Callithrix-Arten: engl. "Grooming", an important role of the protection of the relationships in the social association. The invitation to the Grooming takes place sights of the partner through sharp and demonstrative Körperdehnen. A saline skin-shed, foreign-bodies u, become with this fur-care. ä. licked as well as. with the fingers read off; and such a mutual love-service can go ahead also the combination. The role of the tongue sometimes is represented grotesquely exaggerated on that occasion: With the "Liebesschmatzen", the tongue is stuck out rhythmically from the mouth under exaggerated Kaubewegungen, and sometimes, it turns even into a downright "tongue-kiss."

Endangering The situation of the different marmosets is very different. While some still are quite frequent, other types are the white-shoulder-silk-monkey (Callithrix humeralifer) threatened directly by the extermination, according to the Springtamarin (Callimico goeldii), the yellow-head-tuft-monkey (Callithrix aurita), that Weißgesichtseidenaffe (Callithrix geoffroyi), the Lisztaffe (Saguinus Oedipus) and also the lion-monkey (Leontopithecus rosalia). The Springtamarin and the lion-monkeys are protected by the Washingtoner Artenschutzübereinkommen.