Callithrix pygmaea (Spix, 1823)

Voss, Robert S. & Fleck, David W., 2011, Mammalian Diversity And Matses Ethnomammalogy In Amazonian Peru Part 1: Primates, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2011 (351), pp. 1-81 : 29-30

Callithrix pygmaea (Spix, 1823)

VOUCHER MATERIAL (TOTAL 5 12): Boca Río Yaquerana (FMNH 88997–88999), Nuevo San Juan (AMNH 272828, MUSM 13301), Orosa (AMNH 73751, 74054–74056), Santa Cecilia (FMNH 87135–87137).

UNVOUCHERED REPORTS: Choncó ( Amanzo, 2006), Reserva Comunal Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo ( Puertas and Bodmer, 1993; Heymann and Aquino, 1994), Río Aucayo ( Castro and Soini, 1977), Río Tapiche ( Bennett et al., 2001), Río Yavarí (left bank below Angamos; Salovaara et al., 2003), Río Yavarí-Mirím ( Salovaara et al., 2003).

IDENTIFICATION: The pygmy marmoset (formerly Cebuella pygmaea ) was last reviewed in substantive detail by Hershkovitz (1977), who recognized only Spix’s epithet as valid, treating niveiventris Lönnberg, 1940, as a strict synonym. However, other authors (e.g., Cruz Lima, 1945; Cabrera, 1958; Napier, 1976; Roosmalen and Roosmalen, 1997; Groves, 2001, 2005) have treated C. p. pygmaea and C. p. niveiventris as valid subspecies distinguishable by ventral fur color. Roosmalen and Roosmalen (1997) mapped these nominal taxa as allopatrically distributed north and south of the Amazon, respectively.

Spix’s original material of pygmaea (the holotype, preserved in the Zoologischen Staatssamlung München; Kraft, 1983) was collected at Tabatinga, on the north (left) bank of the Amazon just upstream from the mouth of the Yavarí, 9 whereas Lönnberg’s material of niveiventris (two syntypes in the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm) was collected at Lago Ipixuna, about halfway between the Juruá and the Purus on the south (right) bank of the river. We have not

examined the type material of either taxon, but specimens from the Yavarí-Ucayali interfluve more closely resemble niveiventris by virtue of their mostly whitish underparts, by contrast with specimens from the adjacent north bank of the Amazon (e.g., AMNH 74360–74370), which have grizzled-brownish underparts (resembling those of typical pygmaea according to Hershkovitz, 1977). Ventral fur color does not, however, consistently distinguish specimens from opposite banks of the Amazon, and we agree with Hershkovitz (1977) that subspecific nomenclature does not usefully describe any currently recognized pattern of geographic variation among museum specimens of pygmy marmosets. Unfortunately, molecular data suggesting a high degree of genetic divergence within C. pygmaea were all obtained from captive individuals of unknown geographic origin ( Tagliaro et al., 2000). External and craniodental measurements of specimens we examined from the Yavarí-Ucayali interfluve are provided in table 6. Most are unaccompanied by weights, but an old adult male from Nuevo San Juan (AMNH 272828) weighed 115 g, and a young adult female from the same locality (MUSM 13301) weighed 99 g.

ETHNOBIOLOGY: The Matses call the pygmy marmoset madun sipi, which means ‘‘demon’s tamarin.’’ The Matses have no synonymous names for pygmy marmosets, and no subtypes are recognized by them.

The Matses do not hunt or kill pygmy marmosets. They do not keep them as pets, since they believe they can cause illness. Recently, some people have caught them to sell to non-Indians as pets. All Matses know about pygmy marmosets, but many have not observed one closely.

MATSES NATURAL HISTORY: Pygmy marmosets are very cute. They are small and gray. They have a flat face and a mane that makes their head look big. They are the size of a dwarf squirrel [ Sciurillus pusillus ], but they are most similar to tamarins.

They climb on trees and vines in any forest type. They always return to the same large, smooth-barked trees where they feed. They spend most of their time hanging on the trunks of these large trees. They can be found high or low in the forest. They vocalize saying ‘‘ pss pss ’’ as if they were giggling. When they see people, they hide on the opposite side of the trunk. They only move about in the daytime.

Their food is the bark of large smoothtrunked dicot trees. [Other speakers simply say they gnaw on the trees without being specific about what they eat, but none mention explicitly that they consume sap.] They rarely or never eat fruits [one speaker said he has seen them eat some fruits, but others disagree].

Tables

TABLE 6 External and Craniodental Measurements (mm) of Callithrix pygmaea from the Yavarí- Ucayali Interfluve

	Males a	Females b
HBL	143 (141–147) 4	147 (143–150) 3
LT	186 (172–208) 4	187 (160–211) 3
HF	41 (39–43) 4	43 (41–44) 3
Ear	20 (19–22) 4	19 (18–20) 3
CIL	28.2 (27.5–28.9) 2	28.7 (27.4–30.3) 7
OB	21.2 (20.8–21.7) 3	20.6 (19.8–21.4) 5
POC	18.1 (17.7–18.8) 3	17.9 (17.8–18.1) 6
ZB	—	21.6 (20.6–22.8) 3
BB	20.9 (20.8–21.0) 3	20.6 (19.9–21.3) 6
PPL	13.9 (13.8–14.0) 2	14.5 (14.0–15.5) 7
LMT	8.4 (8.3–8.5) 2	8.7 (8.3–9.0) 7
BM1	2.3 (2.2–2.4) 3	2.3 (2.0–2.5) 7
M1–M1	10.9 (10.7–11.2) 3	10.9 (10.1–11.2) 7
I2–I2	4.9 (4.7–5.0) 3	5.1 (4.8–5.3) 7

a Summary statistics (mean, observed range in parentheses, and sample size) for measurements of AMNH 272828; FMNH 87135, 87136, 88897.

b

Summary statistics (mean, observed range in parentheses, and sample size) for measurements of AMNH 73751, 74054–74056; FMNH 87137, 88898; MUSM 13301.