Do you know the smallest monkey in the world? It is a pygmy marmoset, because of its appearance like a squirrel, it is also known as a squirrel monkey and a bird monkey.
Pygmy marmosets have a pair of large eyes and a pair of large ears with a wide eye distance, a body length of 20 to 40 cm, a tail length of 42 cm, a mouth and nose snout of black, eye circles, ear margins, nose bridges, cheeks, throat and neck are white, the top of the head is gray to black, the back, forelimbs, hands and feet are red or yellow, and the abdomen is light gray.
Pygmy marmosets are commonly found in tropical rainforests and dry forests, primary and secondary forests, mangrove swamps, riverbank areas, and discontinuous residual forest activities. Pygmy marmosets prefer to live in groups, each with its own range of motion, and using the secretions of the glands as a boundary.
Pygmy marmosets are omnivorous animals, mainly preying on insects, if they do not eat insects for a long time, they will shorten their lifespan, so they are also called "insect-eating monkeys". In addition to insects, pygmy marmosets also feed on the fruits and buds of plants, and occasionally on small vertebrates.
Pygmy marmosets are slender, thick and soft, and their body color is bright and colorful, and the body size and coat color are the main basis for distinguishing adult pygmy marmosets from adult pygmy marmosets. The darker coat color is smaller than the sub-adult, and the adult pygmy marmoset is more vivid and larger, and the coat color gradually turns white after aging. The sex difference between adult pygmy marmosets is that females have black coats around their faces, while males do not.
It is a pity that the number of such cute pygmy marmosets is not as large as before. Intestinal parasitic diseases can cause pygmy marmosets to die, and the disease is a common cause of death in pygmy marmosets. In addition, in recent years, due to the fact that humans keep it as a pet, coupled with the expansion of the scope of human activities, its wild number has shown a downward trend, and it has been listed as low-risk on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
This article was scientifically checked by Huang Shaohua, a senior teacher of the second middle school in Chaisang District, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province.
This article is from: Xinhua Net