Goeldi’s Marmoset Fast Facts
Overview
Goeldi's marmosets are found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Brazil and Bolivia. They inhabit areas of the Amazon rainforest with patchy canopy cover and strong undergrowth. Goeldi's are amazing climbers, leaping from tree to tree, catching prey and avoiding predators. Goeldi's marmosets live in small social groups of around six individuals. They never venture far from one another, keeping in contact through calls, scents, facial and body language.
Diet
Goeldi's marmosets are omnivores, eating both plants and meat depending on the season. In the wet season, their diet consists of fruit, invertebrates, spiders, lizards, frogs, and snakes. In the dry season, they feed on fungi. Goeldi's are the only primates known to eat mushrooms as a main part of their diet.
Reproduction
Females give birth twice a year and, unlike other marmosets, they only give birth to a single infant. The gestation period lasts from 140 to 180 days. Similar to many primates the female is the main caregiver for the first 2-3 weeks, Following this, the father takes over most of the parental duties. The infant is weans around 65 days. Females in this species reach reproductive maturity at 8.5 months of age, males at 16.5 months.
Threats + Conservation
Goeldi's marmosets are listed as VULNERABLE on the IUCN Red List. Although this species is not threatened with imminent extinction, populations are at risk of habitat loss caused by logging and forest clearance for agricultural use. They are also poached for the illegal pet trade and hunted by local people for food.
Fun facts
1. They can leap a distance of 13 feet (4 meters) horizontally without losing height. 2. The species takes its name from its discoverer, the Swiss naturalist Emil August Goeldi. 3. The group like to keep close, rarely moving more than 15 metres away from each other.
Callimico goeldii