Marmosets have distinctive large white ear tufts and their tail is striped, with alternate wide dark and narrow pale bands. Their coat is grey, black, brown and white with streaks of orange. Their claw-like nails allow them to cling to trees - and they weigh less than a can of baked beans!
In the wild, Marmosets live in family groups of three to fifteen, consisting of one or two breeding females, an unrelated male, their offspring and occasionally extended family members and unrelated individuals. Marmosets are characterized by a high degree of cooperative care of the young - adult males, females other than the mother, and older, and older offspring, participate in carrying infants.
The favorite food of marmosets is tree sap, which they reach by gnawing holes in trunks.
