{"id":23699,"date":"2022-12-22T07:51:38","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T06:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=70804"},"modified":"2022-12-22T09:36:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T08:36:13","slug":"what-are-the-smallest-monkeys-and-primates-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/what-are-the-smallest-monkeys-and-primates-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the smallest monkeys and primates in the world?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Megan Shersby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 22 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The titles for the smallest primate and smallest monkey go to different species, as not all primates are monkeys. As well as monkeys, primates also include the prosimians (such as lemurs<\/a>), lesser apes (the gibbons), great apes (such as orangutans<\/a> and gorillas<\/a>) and humans.<\/p>\n

What is the smallest monkey in the world?<\/h2>\n
\""A\"<\/picture><\/div>
Pygmy marmoset in captivity, in the UK. \u00a9 Andrew Dernie\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""A\"<\/picture><\/div>
A female pygmy marmoset with two babies, in captivity, in The Netherlands. \u00a9 Ger Bosma\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe smallest monkey in the world accolade is\u00a0awarded to two species of pygmy marmoset, found in South America, including Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru.\n

The two \u2013 the Western pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea<\/em>) and the Eastern pygmy marmoset (C. niveiventris<\/em>) \u2013 used to be considered two subspecies of the same species, but a scientific paper published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution<\/em><\/a> in 2018 split them into two separate species. The two are very similar in morphology, and are separated by geographical barriers such as large rivers.<\/p>\n

Pygmy marmosets weigh just over 100g, and measure between 11.7-15.2cm in head-body length.<\/p>\n

More on taxonomy and new species:<\/h4>\n