Editing Pygmy marmoset (section)

== Ecology ==

=== Geographic range and habitat ===

Pygmy marmosets can be found in much of the western [[Amazon Basin]], in [[Brazil]], [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]], and [[Bolivia]]. The western pygmy marmoset, ''C. pygmaea'', occurs in the state of [[Amazonas (Brazilian state)|Amazonas]], Brazil, eastern Peru, southern Colombia, and north-eastern Ecuador. The eastern pygmy marmoset, ''C. niveiventris'', is also found in Amazonas, but also in [[Acre (state)|Acre]], Brazil, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. The distribution of both species is often limited by rivers. They typically live in the understory of the mature evergreen forests and often near rivers.<ref name="IUCN" /> [[Population density]] is correlated with food-tree availability. They can be found between ground level and about {{cvt|20|m|abbr=on}} into the trees, but generally do not enter the top of the [[Canopy (biology)|canopy]]. They are often found in areas having standing water for more than three months of the year.<ref name="Soini1988" />

=== Diet ===

[[File:Pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) on branch.jpg|thumb|Specialised claws allow the pygmy marmoset to cling to trees while feeding.]]

These monkeys have a specialized diet of tree [[Gum (botany)|gum]]. They gnaw holes in the bark of appropriate trees and vines with their specialized dentition to elicit the production of gum. When the sap puddles up in the hole, they lap it up with their tongues. They also lie in wait for [[insect]]s, especially [[butterfly|butterflies]], which are attracted to the sap holes. They supplement their diet with nectar and fruit.<ref name="GenoudMartinGlaser1997">{{Cite journal | last1 = Genoud | first1 = M. | last2 = Martin | first2 = R. D. | last3 = Glaser | first3 = D. | doi = 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2345(1997)41:3<229::AID-AJP5>3.0.CO;2-Z | title = Rate of metabolism in the smallest simian primate, the pygmy marmoset (''Cebuella pygmaea'') | journal = American Journal of Primatology | volume = 41 | issue = 3 | pages = 229–245 | year = 1997 | pmid = 9057967| s2cid = 20927342 }}</ref> A group's home range is {{cvt|0.1|to|0.4|ha|abbr=on}}, and feeding is usually concentrated on one or two trees at a time. When those become depleted, a group moves to a new home range. [[Brown-mantled tamarin]]s are generally [[sympatric]] with pygmy marmosets and often raid pygmy marmosets' gum holes.<ref name="IUCN" />

Pygmy marmosets have adapted insect-like claws, known as [[Tegula (primate anatomy)|tegulae]], to engage in a high degree of claw-clinging behaviors associated with plant [[exudate]] exploitation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lang|first=Kristina Cawthon|title=Primate Factsheets: Pygmy marmoset (Callithrix pygmaea) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology|url=http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/pygmy_marmoset|access-date=24 September 2013}}</ref> Claw-clinging is primarily used during feeding, but also during plant exudate foraging.<ref name="Jackson2011" />