INTRODUCTION
The Black-tufted-ear Marmoset is usually found in groups of up to a dozen and is active during the day.

They are found in north-east and central Brazil and are divided into a number of subspecies with quite distinctive head patterns. This subspecies has black ear tufts as the name suggests and a white blaze on its forehead.

They eat fruit, insects and tree sap which they extract by biting holes in the bark in a similar way to the Tassle-eared Marmoset. They live in forests and upland scrub.

MORPHOLOGY
The black tufted-ear marmoset has nonopposable thumbs and nails of the digits which are claw- like.

HABITAT
The black tufted-ear marmoset is endemic to the forests and savannas of Brazil, which tend to be seasonal habitats.

ECOLOGY
Gums make up >70 % of the plant part of the diet of the black tufted-ear marmoset (Fonseca and Lacher, 1984). Being highly gummivorous may explain why the black tufted-ear marmoset has a small home range.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE
The social structure is much the same as that of the Common Marmoset although the groups tend to be smaller averaging 6 individuals.

BEHAVIOR
Diurnal and Arboreal.
They eat more gum than other marmosets because it is a more reliable source of food. When showing aggression they push their ear tufts forward and puff themselves up to appear larger than they really are.

ASSOCIATION
Only on occassion do they associate with golden-headed lion tamarins.

SCENT MAKING
The black tufted-ear marmoset scent-marks at tree sap holes which may communicate time between usage for a specific group, preventing two different groups meeting at the same holes in a tree at the same time.

suprapubic marking: this is when an individual presses the suprapubic pad against a substrate and deposits secretions by pulling itself along or by pushing itself with its feet. This behavior pattern is frequent in the black tufted-ear marmoset and can occur more frequently by an individual where the home ranges of two groups overlap, thus suggesting a use for demarcation of territory.

VOCALIZATIONS
At least four different vocalizations, alarm calls, threat calls, contact calls

LOCOMOTION
This species moves through the forest quadrupedally, but is capable of leaping.

REPRODUCTION
They give birth to twins.