How Do Marmosets Work?

length or about twelve centimeters. Marmosets are members of one of five families of primates called Plattarines or New World monkeys. That's because at some point millions of years ago they separated from the primates of Africa and wound up on the other side of the Atlantic. The apes and so called Old World monkeys are catarines. Marsets are almost exclusively

tree dwellers. Their nostrils are rounded and further apart than catarines, and though they do use their tails for balance, their tails are not prehensile, meaning they can't grasp things with them. Those tails are banded and long, usually longer than their bodies. Even non pygmy types are pretty small. The average male marmoset weighs about nine ounces or two hundred and fifty grams, and will be just over seven inches in length that's

about eighteen centimeters. Females are just a little smaller. Their facial skin is pale, but it darkens in the sun. They're covered with fur that's flecked with brown, gray, and yellow. They have large white ear tufts and the white blaze on their forehead. Their hands and feet look very similar to squirrels. Their thumbs are not opposable, and they have

claw like nails on all but their big toe. They use these claws to help them move through the trees quickly, using all four legs like squirrels, but also to scrap and scratch tree bark to get at the gums, app and resin that can make up to seventy percent of their diet. Marmosets also forage four insects and eat fruit, seeds, fungi, nectar,

and small animals from snails to lizards to nestlings. They're active for eleven to twelve hours a day after feeding for an hour or so after waking, marmosets typically alternate between resting, feeding, and socializing with their family group. According to researchers, fifty three percent of their time is spent stationary, sprawled out like their on summer vacation, but it's not

all rolling around the treetops. Being on the small side means marmosets are particularly vulnerable to predators, especially raptors and owls, tree snakes, wildcats, and mustelids like weasels, badgers, and ferrets. In the wild. The average life span of the Carmen marmoset is twelve years. For the article, this episode is based on to Works checked in with the Wisconsin National

Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin Madison. The center is currently home to about two hundred and seventy marmosets who are helping researchers learn more about everything from parenting to Parkinson's disease. Specifically, Hastiff Works spoke by email with doctor Marina Emborg, a medical doctor, a professor of medical physics, and the director of the pre clinical Parkinson's Research program at the center. She explained that marmosets make

excellent subjects in neurological research for several reasons. Quote, their shorter life span sixteen years in captivity means they reach adulthood more quickly, they have babies more quickly. Also, when you're studying neurogenerative disease like me, you need an older subject. A recis monkey, for example, isn't old until it's twenty five years old, but a marmoset has a shorter life span,

so it essentially speeds up the pace of research. She says that marmoset's social cohesion they live in extended family groups of up to fifteen or so also helps ho stuff Works also spoke about email with doctor Tony Ziegler, distinguished scientist at the Center who focuses her study on that social order. Ziegler discovered that when a female marmoset gets pregnant, a male marmosets are primed to support their

mate in a unique way. She said, marmosets in the wild and in captivity will ovulate within two weeks after giving birth and conceive over eighty five percent of the time. The mom is in a cycle of a five month gestation, and there are just two weeks out of the year that she's not pregnant and Marmosets are multiple ovulators. They give birth to twins and triplets in captivity, not really in the wild. The twins can weigh twenty percent of the mother's body weight, so they are a huge energetic

load and the mother needs helpers. The males are actually going through hormonal changes along with their mates. It's likely they're getting chemical signal communication that the mate is pregnant, and they'll gain weight as the mate does during the pregnancy, and they start having hormonal changes things like the estrogen prolactin glucocorticoid changes, which is like cortisol before the babies

are born. Ziegler says that experiments in which sixty percent of marmoset fathers went searching for their offspring when hearing their recorded cry led her to believe that those marmoset fathers had been better primed for fatherhood with their mates and had better social bonding. As Ziegler said, marmosets are great to work with. Their whole social system is amazing. They're very curious, they love people. They love to observe people as much as people love to observe them. It

makes for a great species to work with. Although responsible Animal research is an important part of medical research that can save and improve many lives. Marmosets do not make good pets. They thrive when they're housed with their family members. Captive marmosets can get bored and require the right sort of stimulation and activity, which is truly a full time job for researchers who work with them to provide in

those rare circumstances where they are kept in captivity. Today's episode is based on an article marmosets are tiny upper canopy dwelling monkeys on how Stuffworks dot Com written by Patti Rasnesen. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.