By: Lifestyle DeskNew Delhi | October 22, 2025 03:28 PM IST 3 min readPygmy marmosets are the smallest monkeys in the world (Source: Instagram/@rewild)Imagine a monkey so small that it can fit right in your palm! According to BBC Wildlife, the tiniest monkey to grace this Earth belongs to the pygmy marmoset clan, found in South America’s Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Popularly known as The Finger Monkey, Pygmy marmosets weigh just over 100g, and measure between 11.7-15.2cm in head to body length.How to identify them?Pygmy marmosets are characterised by dense brown fur mixed with tinges of gold, grey, orange-yellow, and black. The tail, which is longer than the body, is ringed. The monkey can swivel its head 180 degrees, leap as far as 16 feet, and has a digestive system made for breaking down tree sap and other plant offerings. An Eastern pygmy marmoset (Cebuella niveiventris) at the Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm and Amazon Animal Orphanage. (Source: Instagram/@natgeo)These monkeys like to live in family groups that include a male, female, their children and perhaps another adult. Communication between one another takes place through vocalizations, chemical secretions, and visual displays. There are two sub species of pygmy marmosets – eastern and western, both of which have nearly identical features.As with other marmosets, only one female breeds, and they usually give birth to twins – with each weighing around half an ounce. The whole family pitches in with childcare.Can they make good pets?As the top four smallest types of monkeys are all marmosets, one might imagine that their size would make them good candidates for an exotic indoor pet. However, they are not recommended as a good choice for several reasons.For one, they like to mark territory with scent, so would be unsuitable for indoor living. They are also very social creatures and thrive within their family group, so separating one out would not be in its best interests. And lastly, while intelligent creatures, they get easily bored and can be a handful.ALSO READ | Every day, this Indian animal starts singing exactly when the Sun is 3.8 degrees below horizonThe Smithsonian Magazine writes that their habitats, known as gallery forests, border rivers in the Amazon basin that are seasonally flooded. However, gallery forests’ proximity to water makes them attractive to people who want to build houses with yards that slope down to the river. This development, along with agriculture and the oil industry, has slowly carved into the places where pygmy marmosets live. For more lifestyle news, click here to join our WhatsApp Channel and also follow us on Instagram© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Monkey