Marmoset or tamarin?
How to tell them apart
Tamarins are close relatives in the same family, and many have moustache-like facial hair.
Marmosets are close relatives in the same family; they gnaw holes in trees to feed on gum and sap.
Quick answers
They differ on 1 of the 8 quick answers: kept as a pet.
| Question | Marmoset | Tamarin |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | Mammal | Mammal |
| Carnivore? | Omnivore | Omnivore |
| Dangerous? | No | No |
| Domesticated? | No | No |
| Awake when? | Daytime | Daytime |
| Hibernates? | No | No |
| Kept as a pet? differs | Sometimes | No |
| Do people eat it? | No | No |
At a glance
| Question | Marmoset | Tamarin |
|---|---|---|
| Found in differs | South America | South America, Central America |
| Habitat | Rainforest, Forest | Rainforest, Forest |
| Size | Tiny | Tiny |
| Length differs | About 20 cm (most species), plus a long tail | 13–30 cm, plus a 25–44 cm tail |
| Weight differs | About 100–350 g (most species) | 348–575 g |
| Legs | 4 | 4 |
| Covered in | Fur | Fur |
| Lives | In families | In families |
| Lives for differs | 12–16 years | 13–20 years |
| Can fly | No | No |
| Swims | No | No |
| Lays eggs | No | No |
About each
Marmoset
Twenty-two species of tiny New World monkeys, most about 20 cm long. They have claws rather than nails and use strong lower incisors to gnaw holes in trees and feed on the gum and sap. They live in family groups of 3 to 15.
Everything on the marmoset page
Tamarin
Squirrel-sized New World monkeys in 22 species, many with moustache-like facial hair. They run and leap through tropical rainforest and open forest, and usually have twins, which the whole group helps to raise.
Everything on the tamarin page
Sources
Last reviewed . The answers and notes come from each animal's own page, where every source is listed.
How each answer is decided: How we answer. More look-alikes: Side by side.