Marmosets and Tamarins

There are at least three species of true marmosets or titis (though this latter name can confuse them with unrelated titi monkeys) in the genus Callithrix. However, some biologists regard several of the subspecies as separate species. The marmoset species do not share habitat with each other. Marmosets have light-colored, almost white genitals, which the males may flash when another enters his territory.

The black-tailed or silvery marmoset (C. argentata) has naked pink ears, and its face is also hairless. It is found in two widely separate areas of the Amazon Basin. One is east toward the Atlantic Ocean, and the other is located toward the west, near the foothills of the Andes Mountains.

The common, or white-headed marmoset (C. jacchus) has a white face and ear tufts that are lighter than its primary coloring of a splotchy gray-and-brown. Its tail has rings. It lives in scattered populations across the eastern bulge of South America. The subspecies differ in the color of their ear tufts.

The critically endangered tassel-eared, or santorem marmoset (C. humeralifer) lives in central Brazil. Its ear tufts are long enough to be called tassels. The western subspecies is mostly whitish, while the eastern is darker, with silvery ear tassels.