Suborder: Platyrrhini | Superfamily: Ceboidea | Family: Callitrichidae | Subfamily: Callitrichinae

The Callitrichidae family and Callitrichinae Subfamily is composed of marmosets and tamarins. The diet of callitrichids consists of fruit and nectar when they are in season, exudates? and insects. Callitrichids are small (weighing less than 2 pounds) and they're long tails are not prehensile?. Both males and females care for the young.

The social structure of callitrichids varies, members of some species live in monogomaus pairs while others live in multimale-multifemale groups. In callitrichid social groups, generally only the dominant female breeds and infants are raised by the whole group. The dominant female emits pheromones? which suppresses the hormonal system of subordinate females so they do not come into estrus? and therefore cannot conceive.

Cebidae, the other family of New World monkeys, and Callitrichidae differ in that members of Cebidae have 36 teeth and have nails while Callitrichidae have 32 teeth and have nails that look like claws. Callitrichids frequently give birth to twins and triplets but cebids rarely do.

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