Goeldi's Monkey
They are also known as the Goeldi's Marmoset. Goeldi's marmosets are blackish or blackish-brown in colour and the hair on their head and tail sometimes has red, white, or silverly brown highlights. Their bodies are about 8–9 inches long, and their tails are about 10–12 inches long. The species takes its name from its discoverer, the Swiss naturalist Emil August Goeldi.
Habitat
They live in the upper Amazon basin region of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. They inhabit tropical moist forests that have patchy canopy cover and dense shrubby undergrowth.
Diet
They are omnivores. In the wet season, their diet includes fruit, insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, and snakes. In the dry season, they feed on fungi, the only tropical primates known to depend on this source of food.
Breeding
Little is known about the mating system in Goeldi's marmosets. Females give birth twice a year and carry a single infant per pregnancy. The gestation period lasts from 140 to 180 days. For the first 2-3 weeks the mother acts as the primary caregiver until the father takes over most of the responsibilities except for nursing. The infant is weaned after about 65 days. Females in this species reach reproductive maturity at 8.5 months of age, males at 16.5 months.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Vulnerable(V), the population number is unknown and their trend is decreasing. Very localized and patchy distribution. Always rare and difficult to observe. Groups are generally widely separated, determined by the availability of the right mix/mosaic of habitats and food availability. Key habitat such as stream edge, bamboo forest and secondary growth patches are needed due to their predilection for certain species of fungus.
Threats
There are no major threats to Goeldi's marmosets at present. However, the loss of their habitat can become a threat in the future due to logging and different development projects.
Conservation
This species occurs in the following protected areas:
Brazil:
Serra do Divisor National Park
Colombia:
Amacayacu Natural National Park
Cahuinarí Natural National Park
La Paya Natural National Park
Peru:
Manu National Park (Terborgh 1983).
It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.