Buffy-headed Marmoset Characteristics | Callithrix Flaviceps Diet & Facts

Kingdom	Order	Family	Genus	Species
Animalia	Primates	Callitrichidae	Callithrix	Callithrix flaviceps

Buffy-headed Marmoset Distribution

Buffy-Headed Marmoset Characteristics

The buffy-headed marmoset^[1] is a rare species of marmoset native to the Tropical Rainforests of southeastern Brazil.

It is found in southern Espírito Santo and probably northern Rio de Janeiro, and its distribution extends to Minas Gerais.
The buffy-headed marmoset has perhaps one of the most charming faces in the primate world. Cream fur drapes its forehead, chin, and cheeks.
In contrast, darker fur surrounds its amber eyes before brushing a flattened nose accented by flared, downward-pointing nostrils.
The mask-like appearance has led to comparisons to a sad clown’s face. But in reality, the long strands of yellowish hair blow wildly from his temples, reminiscent of the goofy hairstyle of a specific childhood prankster: Bozo the Clown.
A dense, beige mane drapes the head and buries the ears of this monkey. The delicate frame is covered with a coat of greyish-brown fur, with the underside covered in lighter fur.
Alternating black and white fur stripes accent the long tail. Unlike many New World Monkeys, the buffy-headed marmoset’s tail is not prehensile.
Claws on each of their fingers, except for the big toes, which have nails, help these marmosets hold on to trees while feeding. They have non-opposable thumbs.

What Do Buffy-headed Marmosets Eat?

The Buffy-headed Marmoset diet includes Laceleaf (Anthurium)^[¶] and other plant matters.

Buffy-Headed Marmoset Facts

These miniature and shy monkeys are mostly tree dwellers, crawling on 4 legs (quadrupeds) from tree to tree with jerky, squirrel-like movements.
While most marmosets are mainly gomivorous (feed on tree gums), these species are mainly mycophagous-insectivorous, a fancy way of saying that they consume a lot of insects and fungi (mushrooms).
Thanks to their adaptive primate anatomy (called “tegulae” in scientific language), they can vertically hang from a branch by digging their claws into the bark.
At night, buffy-headed marmosets sleep in thick, vine-filled tangles in trees, where they hopefully stay undetected.
They live in family groups (or “troops“) of three to twenty individuals. A larger group may include up to 4 breeding females, although only one is the primary breeder.

Suggested Reading: Different Types of Small MonkeysCite This Page

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BioExplorer.net. (2024, October 19). Buffy-headed Marmoset. Bio Explorer. https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/monkeys/buffy-headed-marmoset/.

Key References

^[1] – “Species Spotlight: The Buffy-Headed Marmoset Is Menaced on Multiple Fronts • The Revelator”. Accessed December 11, 2022. Link.
^[¶] – Bello, C., Galetti, M., Montan, D., Pizo, M. A., Mariguela, T. C., Culot, L., Bufalo, F., Labecca, F., Pedrosa, F., Constantini, R., Emer, C., Silva, W. R., da Silva, F. R., Ovaskainen, O. and Jordano, P. (2017), Atlantic frugivory: a plant-frugivore interaction data set for the Atlantic Forest. Ecology, 98: 1729. doi:10.1002/ecy.1818. doi:10.1002/ecy.1818

Buffy-headed Marmoset