Sussman R W, Kinzey W G
Am J Phys Anthropol. 1984 Aug;64(4):419-49. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330640407.
The marmosets and tamarins fill a unique ecological role among the anthropoid primates, one that has not been fully recognized. Many misconceptions--that they are primitive, monogamous, territorial, and squirrellike--pervade the literature. These misconceptions are largely the result of misinterpreting laboratory studies which have not been confirmed with identified animals in natural habitats. Recent field studies, reviewed here, indicate that marmosets and tamarins have a highly derived ecological role, are not monogamous, feed largely on insects and plant exudates, and have uniquely specialized positional behavior involving clinging to vertical tree trunks in order to feed on exudates. Accompanying these behavioral traits are a number clawlike nails on all digits except the hallux, and a three-cusped upper molar morphology. These form a suite of characteristics unique among the living primates, many of which are related to their ecological role. We believe that the marmosets and tamarins are members of a guild of exudate feeders in which plant exudates are an important component of the diet. It is within this framework of a primate foraging guild that we can best understand many of their morphological and behavioral adaptations.
狨猴和绢毛猴在类人猿灵长类动物中扮演着独特的生态角色，这一角色尚未得到充分认识。许多误解——比如它们原始、一夫一妻制、有领地意识且像松鼠——充斥于文献之中。这些误解很大程度上是由于对实验室研究的错误解读，而这些研究并未在自然栖息地中对已识别的动物进行验证。本文所综述的近期野外研究表明，狨猴和绢毛猴具有高度特化的生态角色，并非一夫一妻制，主要以昆虫和植物分泌物为食，并且具有独特的专门化姿势行为，即紧紧依附于垂直树干以取食分泌物。与这些行为特征相伴的是，除拇趾外所有指头上都有一些爪状指甲，以及一种有三个尖的上臼齿形态。这些构成了一套在现存灵长类动物中独一无二的特征，其中许多特征都与其生态角色相关。我们认为，狨猴和绢毛猴是分泌物取食者群体的成员，在这个群体中，植物分泌物是饮食的重要组成部分。正是在灵长类觅食群体的这个框架内，我们才能最好地理解它们的许多形态和行为适应。
