The buffy-tufted marmoset (Callithrix aurita), also known as the buffy tufted-ear marmoset or white-eared marmoset, is a New World monkey that lives in the forests on the Atlantic coast of southeast Brazil. Of all the marmosets, it has the southernmost range.[5]

Buffy-tufted marmoset[1][2]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[4]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Callitrichidae
Genus: Callithrix
Species:
C. aurita
Binomial name
Callithrix aurita
(É. Geoffroy, 1812)
Synonyms
  • chrysopyga Burmeister, 1854
  • coelestis Miranda Ribeiro, 1924
  • itatiayae Avila-Pires, 1959
  • petronius Miranda Ribeiro, 1924

The buffy-tufted marmoset resembles the common marmoset, but is somewhat larger. It has grey-black skin, and the most obvious differences from the common marmoset are its whitish face ("skull-like facial mask",[6]) brown crown, and shorter ear tufts.

The Buffy-tufted marmoset is a species threatened of extinction due to the high level of deforestation in the Atlantic Forest. In the image there is a Buffy-tufted marmoset.
The Buffy-tufted marmoset is a species threatened of extinction due to the high level of deforestation in the Atlantic Forest.

Distribution

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The buffy-tufted marmoset is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil, occurring in ombrophilous and semideciduous forests in the Serras do Mar and Mantiqueira in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, and extending to the North of Rio Doce in Minas Gerais.[7] They forage and travel in the lower canopy and dense understorey vegetation, typically found between 6 and 9 meters above the ground. Alongside C. flaviceps, they are the species inhabiting areas with the most extreme climatic conditions.[8]

It occurs in perennial, semideciduous, secondary, mixed montane forests, interspersed with stands of bamboo at altitudes ranging from 80 to 1200 meters.[9][10]

Morphology

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It has an overall black coloration, but they can also be found with reddish spots or speckled with red, without presenting a general pattern of stripes. Moreover, its reddish spots provide the characteristic golden hue that gave rise to the species' name "aurita". Its forehead is white, with the sides of the face being black, sometimes speckled with red. They have short (20 to 50 mm), white intra-auricular tufts that can vary to a brownish hue. The feet are brown, and the hands are a strongly weathered brown color. The tail is black with white rings.[11]

It is probably the largest species in the Callithrix genus, weighing 400–450 g and with a body length of 19–25 cm and a tail length of 27–35 cm.[12]

Ecology

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It is diurnal and arboreal, living almost all its life in the trees in groups that usually consist of 4 to 8 individuals, although it's possible to find groups of 11 individuals, with only one reproductive pair of male and female, with a dominant female.[8][13] The offspring, always twins, are born after a gestation period of 144 days and are carried by the parents in the first weeks of life. Older siblings assist in caring for the offspring. When they reach adulthood, they migrate to other groups to form new pairs.[14][15] Their activity period is reduced during hot-dry times. During the rainy season - 6:30-19:00 / dry season - 7:30-16:30. Their resting sites are associated with dense vegetation.[8]

They feed on resins and other plant secretions, as well as plant material itself, such as fruits and tree gum. During dry periods, they adapt their diet to include animal matter, such as lepidoptera larvae, orthopterans, cockroaches, spiders, harvestmen, snakes, lizards, small frogs and bird eggs.[16] Studies also show that this species can feed on bamboo fungi.[3]

It can establish sympatry with other species like those of the genus Cebus and Callicebus, but there are no records of sympatry with other forms of Callithrix.[17]

Conservation

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This species is present on the list of endangered species in the mentioned states where it occurs,[18][19][failed verification][20] as well as on the Brazilian[21] and global lists.[3] Its restricted distribution, habitat destruction, population decline, competition with other species, and hybridization due to the introduction of invasive exotic species (Callithrix jacchus and C. penicillata) are among the main threats.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Groves CP (2005). Wilson DE, Reeder DM (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 130. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Rylands AB, Mittermeier RA (2009). "The Diversity of the New World Primates (Platyrrhini)". In Garber PA, Estrada A, Bicca-Marques JC, Heymann EW, Strier KB (eds.). South American Primates: Comparative Perspectives in the Study of Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Springer. pp. 23–54. ISBN 978-0-387-78704-6.
  3. ^ a b c d de Melo, F.R., Port-Carvalho, M., Pereira, D.G., Ruiz-Miranda, C.R., Ferraz, D.S., Bicca-Marques, J.C., Jerusalinsky, L., Oliveira, L.C., Valença-Montenegro, M.M., Valle, R.R., da Cunha, R.G.T., Mittermeier, R.A. (2021) [amended version of 2020 assessment]. "Callithrix aurita". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T3570A191700629. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T3570A191700629.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  5. ^ Rylands AB, Coimbra-Filho AF, Mittermeier RA (1993-06-10). "Systematics, geographic distribution, and some notes on the conservation status of the Callitrichidae". Marmosets and Tamarins. Oxford University Press. pp. 11–77. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198540229.003.0002. ISBN 978-0-19-854022-9.
  6. ^ Coimbra-Filho AF, Mittermeier RA, Rylands AB, Mendes SL, Kierulff MC, Pinto LP (2006). "The Taxonomic Status of Wied's Black-tufted-ear Marmoset, Callithrix kuhlii (Callitrichidae, Primates)". Primate Conservation. 21: 1–24. doi:10.1896/0898-6207.21.1.1. S2CID 51681917.
  7. ^ Mittermeier RA, Coimbra-Filho AF, Constable ID, Rylands AB, Valle C (January 1982). "Conservation of primates in the Atlantic forest region of eastern Brazil". International Zoo Yearbook. 22 (1): 2–17. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1090.1982.tb02004.x. ISSN 0074-9664.
  8. ^ a b c Ferrari SF, Kátia H, Corrêa M, Coutinho PE (1996). "Ecology of the "Southern" Marmosets (Callithrix aurita and Callithrix flaviceps)". In Norconk MA, Rosenberger AL, Garber PA (eds.). Adaptive Radiations of Neotropical Primates. Boston, MA: Springer US. pp. 157–171. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-8770-9_9. ISBN 978-1-4419-8770-9. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  9. ^ Brandão LD, Develey PF (1998). "Distribution and conservation of the buffy tufted-ear marmoset, Callithrix aurita, in lowland coastal atlantic forest, southeast Brazil". Neotropical Primates. 6 (3): 86–88. doi:10.62015/np.1998.v6.402.
  10. ^ Corrêa HK, Coutinho PE (April 1997). "Fatal attack of a pit viper,Bothrops jararaca, on an infant buffy-tufted ear marmoset (Callithrix aurita)". Primates. 38 (2): 215–217. doi:10.1007/bf02382010. ISSN 0032-8332. S2CID 20234237.
  11. ^ "Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 3". Lynx Nature Books. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  12. ^ Malukiewicz J, Boere V, de Oliveira MA, D'arc M, Ferreira JV, French J, Housman G, de Souza CI, Jerusalinsky L, R de Melo F, M Valença-Montenegro M, Moreira SB, de Oliveira E Silva I, Pacheco FS, Rogers J (2020-12-31). "An Introduction to the Callithrix Genus and Overview of Recent Advances in Marmoset Research". ILAR Journal. 61 (2–3): 110–138. doi:10.1093/ilar/ilab027. ISSN 1930-6180. PMID 34933341.
  13. ^ Muskin A (January 1984). "Field notes and geographic distribution of Callithrix aurita in Eastern Brazil". American Journal of Primatology. 7 (4): 377–380. doi:10.1002/ajp.1350070406. ISSN 0275-2565. PMID 32106636. S2CID 84555471.
  14. ^ Mf S (1988). "The marmosets, genus callithrix". Ecology and Behavior of Neotropical Primates: 131–222.
  15. ^ Ross CN, Fite JE, Jensen H, French JA (February 2007). "Demographic review of a captive colony of callitrichids (Callithrix kuhlii)". American Journal of Primatology. 69 (2): 234–240. doi:10.1002/ajp.20367. ISSN 0275-2565. PMC 2980351. PMID 17177315.
  16. ^ Martins MM, Setz EZ (2000-06-01). "Diet of Buffy Tufted-Eared Marmosets (Callithrix aurita) in a Forest Fragment in Southeastern Brazil". International Journal of Primatology. 21 (3): 467–476. doi:10.1023/A:1005491903220. ISSN 1573-8604. S2CID 1471465.
  17. ^ Densidade, genética e saúde populacional como ferramentas para propor um plano de controle e erradicação de invasão biológica: o caso de Callithrix aurita (Primates) no Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, RJ, Brasil (Thesis) (in Brazilian Portuguese).
  18. ^ "Texto publicado no Diário Oficial do Estado do Rio de Janeiro contendo a listagem das 257 espécies" (PDF) (in Portuguese). p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Pesquisa de legislação". Norma (in Portuguese).
  20. ^ "DELIBERAÇÃO NORMATIVA COPAM Nº 147, DE 30 DE ABRIL DE 2010" (PDF). www.siam.mg.gov.br. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  21. ^ "Diário Oficial da União" (PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese). ISSN 1677-7042.