The silvery marmoset is a tiny new world monkey native to Brazil living in the rich, lush jungles surrounding the Amazon River basin. Their range is actually quite tiny, this unique species exists only in a fairly small strip of land in northeastern Brazil and nowhere else on earth save for in human captivity. The silvery marmoset’s Latin binomial name is Mico argentatus, and despite their limited range, they are luckily considered not threatened by the IUCN due to their ability to thrive in their natural jungle habitat. Their common name comes from their silky white/silver pelt, which can look almost platinum blond. The only parts of their body which are not this stunning shade of silver is their black tail and their uncovered face, ears, hands and feet – oh, and their amazing stuck out ears! Their skin is a peachy fleshtone (or yellowish or brownish) which stands out from their bright white coat.

Like most new world monkeys, silvery marmosets are small in size, growing up to around 11 inches (28 cm) at best and weighing not more than a 14 ounces (400 g). These tree-dwelling (arboreal) creatures use specialized claws to scale tall trees. Originally, this species lived exclusively in the rainforest, making their range even smaller than it is today – but human impact has forced the silvery marmosets to expand their territory, which they scent mark with a special gland. They are thought to be rather clever mini-monkey fellows and live in groups (colonies) that share in caring for the young. They are, as you might expect, quite territorial – protecting their feeding grounds with aggressive shouts and threatening postures and facial expressions. In their feeding ground, these marmosets enjoy a diet of mostly tree sap. With canines and incisors of the same length, they can gouge holes in tree trunks and then lap up the sweet exudates that ooze from these holes. But this diet is low in protein, so the marmoset supplements this with some fruit, bugs, small lizards, mammals and bird eggs on occasion.