This New World primate species is native to the forests of Northeast Brazil and is one of many marmoset species known in South America. The center has its own breeding colony and does not import animals from the wild. Although our marmosets were all born in captivity, they behave much like marmosets in the wild. They are highly social and have a dominance hierarchy. Only the dominant female gives birth, and everyone in the family, including the dominant male, helps carry the infants.
Marmosets typically give birth to twins every six months.
Infants usually start to move around on their own at three weeks of age, but they can be carried by others until they are about three to four months old. Marmosets mature at around 18 months and can live up to 12 years. A method perfected by center scientists in 1996 on our marmosets shows promise as a nonsurgical technique for use in conservation efforts for endangered primates. This method, called an embryo flush, is a noninvasive assisted fertilization technique. The common marmoset is the smallest primate to date in which this technique has been successful.