A Primatologia no Brasil

Abstract

The great majority of papers in this collection are devoted to the genus Callithrix.A spects of their ecology and behavior, breeding in captivity, systematics and genetics, and physiology, morphology and pathology are discussed in successive sections.It is timely to have access to these papers since marmosets grow in popularity as primate models to solve a variety of scientific problems.Their small size and omnivorous diet makes them convenient cage animais and easy to manipulate.They are relatively prolifíc for primates producing two pairs of chimeric twins a year.A great deal is known of their anatomy and physiology which approximates suprisingly closely to man and they are susceptible to many human infections.The common Callithrix species reared in captivity, Callithrix jacchus jacchus and Callithrix jacchus penicillata, abound in nature in Brazil and cannot be regarded as endangered species.Primatology in Brazil m ay well be entering a golden age as scientific work with primate models becomes more and more difficult in Europe or N orth America.Such work is sometimes essential to elucidate aspects such as immunology or pathogenesis of a disease using techniques which cannot be ethically employed in man.Also a valid area of experimentation in primates is the toxicity and pharmacodynamics of drugs proposed for human use.It is evidently desirable to do such experiments in animais closest to man, over a reasonable time scale, and during pregnancy to avoid such catastrophes as the thalidomide disaster.T o the reviewer's knowledge however, no legislation exists obliging pharmaceutical companies to m ount such experiments.