Tag Archives: America

Big things come in small packages, just like the pygmy marmoset.

• Pygmy marmosets are a species of small primate, endemic to the Amazon rainforest of northern South America.
• The scientific name of pygmy marmosets is Cebuella pygmaea, or the synonymous Callithrix pygmaea, and it is from the family Callitrichidae, a family of New World monkeys.
• At a height of roughly 12 to 16 centimetres (4.7 to 6.3 inches), and a weight of 85 to 140 grams (3 to 4.9 ounces), pygmy marmosets are among the smallest primates, and are the smallest living monkeys.
• A pygmy marmoset has fur patterned with a variety of colours, including browns, greys, whites, blacks and golds, and the tail is striped with dark coloured rings.
• The diet of pygmy marmosets consists primarily of tree sap or other resins, although they may also eat insects, fruit, spiders, nectar, flowers and lizards.

Pygmy Marmoset
Image courtesy of Karra Rothery/Flickr

• Pygmy marmosets have long tails of approximately 20 centimetres (7.9 inches) in length; and they live in trees and are excellent climbers, however they will rarely climb higher than 18 metres (59 feet) from the base of a tree.
• To collect sap from trees, pygmy marmosets gnaw small holes into the tree trunks, and they may create as many as 1300 holes in a single tree.
• Pygmy marmosets have high pitched calls comparable to that of bird calls, with some sounds being of a pitch too high for human ears to hear.
• While pygmy marmosets are listed as ‘least concern’, they are sometimes kept as exotic pets, however, the monkeys often perish from depression, or show considerable spite towards their owner.
• Pygmy marmosets generally have a lifespan of 8 to 12 years in the wild, and they live in family groups of two to nine individuals, and these groups are well-bonded.

Bibliography:
Pygmy Marmoset, 2016, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/pygmy-marmoset/

Pygmy Marmoset, 2016, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/pygmy-marmoset

Pygmy Marmoset, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_marmoset

Wade E, Callithrix pygmaea, 2012, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Callithrix_pygmaea/

Amazon:        

Spectacled bears are a spectacular species of bear.

• Spectacled bears are a species of medium-sized bear, native to north-western South America, and they are the only extant bear of the continent.
• ‘Spectacled bears’ are also known as ‘Andean short-faced bears’ and ‘Andean bears’; and their common name refers to the spectacle like fur patterns that often occur around their eyes.
• The scientific name of the spectacled bear is Tremarctos ornatus and it is from the family Ursidae, the family of bears.
• Spectacled bears generally grow to be 1.3 to 2 metres (4.3 to 6.6 feet) in length and 60 to 200 kilograms (132 to 441 pounds) in weight.
• The hair of spectacled bears is mostly a black colour, although sometimes it can tend towards brown; with white to beige facial, and sometimes chest, patterns, that vary among the individual bears.

Spectacled Bear
Image courtesy of Nathan Bittinger/Flickr

• The diet of spectacled bears consists of a variety of vegetation including various leaf types and bark, as well as bromeliads, bamboo, fruit, and honey, and the occasional bird, insect or small mammal.
• Spectacled bears generally reside in trees, and as such are skillful climbers; and they often create platforms in the trees to rest on and forage from.
• Spectacled bears are listed as vulnerable due to significant habitat loss, as well as poaching, and some bears are killed simply because they interfere with human activities.
• A female spectacled bear may give birth to one to four cubs in a season, which become independent within a year, and they are cared for by their mother until that time.
• Spectacled bears have an average lifespan of 20 years in their natural habitat, however individuals in captivity can survive until almost 37 years of age.

Bibliography:
Fenner K, Tremarctos ornatus, 2012, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Tremarctos_ornatus/

Spectacled Bear, 2016, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/spectacled-bear/

Spectacled Bear, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectacled_bear

Amazon:        

When working hard, you might get as red-handed as the red-handed tamarin.

• Red-handed tamarins are a species of small primate native to countries of northeast South America, including Guyana, Suriname, Brazil and French Guiana.
• ‘Red-handed tamarins’ are also known as ‘Midas tamarins’ and ‘golden-handed tamarins’.
• The scientific name of red-handed tamarins is Saguinus midas and it is from the family Callitrichidae, a family of New World monkeys.
• Red-handed tamarins grow to be 20.5 to 28 centimetres (8 to 11 inches) in height, excluding the tail, and they generally weigh between 400 to 550 grams (14 to 19.4 ounces).
• The hair colour of red-haired tamarins is black, except for the hands and feet, which are coloured yellow to red.

Red-handed Tamarin
Image courtesy of Mathius Appel/Flickr

• Red-handed tamarins live in troops of 2 to 16 individuals, typically cooperating as they forage and to raise young.
• The diet of red-handed tamarins consists primarily of insects, fruit, spiders, sap, eggs, small animals and leaves.
• Red-handed tamarins have sharp teeth and claws, and they use these when threatened or to protect their territory.
• Female red-handed tamarins usually give birth to one to three young each year, though it is typically two at a time, and their lifespan is up to 10 years or more in the wild, and up to 21 years in captivity.
• Red-handed tamarins can jump from heights of at least 20 metres (66 feet) from a tree, to a solid surface without sustaining injuries.

Bibliography:
Cloyd E, Saguinus midas, 2000, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Saguinus_midas/

Red-handed Tamarin, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-handed_tamarin

Red-handed Tamarin, 2016, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/red-handed-tamarin/