Black-headed Marmoset (Callithrix nigriceps)



MORPHOLOGY:
The mean body weight for an adult male is 370.0 grams (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992). The average body length for this species is 206.3 millimeters and the average tail length is 319.3 millimeters (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992). The black-headed marmoset has nonopposable thumbs and nails of the digits which are claw-like. This species has a forehead and crown which are black in color (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992). The body color is mostly brown with the forelimbs and hindlimbs being pale yellow to orange in color (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992). The upper surface of the hands and feet are black in color (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992). The base of the tail of this species is dark brown above and reddish brown below with the rest of the tail being black having a reddish brown coloration in the midsection (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992). The male has a scrotum which is hairless and unpigmented (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992).

RANGE:
The black-headed marmoset is endemic to the country of Brazil (Rylands et al., 1993). This species is found east of the Jiparana and Madeira rivers and west of the Aripuana river in Western Brazil (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992). This species lives in marginal and disturbed forests (Ferrari and Lopes, 1992).

ECOLOGY:
The black-headed marmoset is gummivorous.

LOCOMOTION:
This species moves through the forest quadrupedally, but is capable of leaping (Fleagle, 1988).

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR:

VOCAL COMMUNICATION:

OLFACTORY COMMUNICATION:

VISUAL COMMUNICATION:

TACILE COMMUNICATION:

REPRODUCTION:
This species gives birth to twins (Fleagle, 1988).

REFERENCES:
Ferrari, S.F. and Lopes, M.A. 1992. A New Species of Marmoset, genus Callithrix Erxleben 1777 (Callitrichidae, Primates) from Western Brazilian Amazonia. Goeldiana, Zoologia, Vol.11, 1-13.

Fleagle, John G. 1988. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press.

Rylands, A.B., Coimbra-Filho, A.F., and Mittermeier, R.A. 1993. Systematics, Geographic Distribution, and Some Notes on the Conservation Status of the Callitrichidae. In Marmosets and Tamarins: Systematics, Behaviour, and Ecology. Oxford University Press.

Last Updated: October 6, 2003.
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