On 29 September, was opened a new area of 450 square meters dedicated to the smallest monkeys in the world, in which are housed marmosets pygmy, tamarins and emperor tamarins Oedipus.

They are seriously endangered primates belonging to the great family of marmoset monkeys, which includes some 42 species, distributed only in Central and South America, with a higher concentration in the Amazon Region.

Their weight ranges from 100 grams of pygmy marmosets, a species present in the new area, and 900 grams of leontocebo.

With their fine and silky coats, long tails and a wide range of tufts, manes, crests, whiskers and fringes, are among the most colorful primates of South America. The name that identifies the family derives from the greek kallíthrix and means "one who has a beautiful head of hair."

The new area, and over 100 square meters of the educational process, have been produced with the support of the Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, has always been committed to combat the scourge of illegal trade in animals and plants, one of main causes of threat to many species, including Tamarin and Marmoset.

The event also is part of the initiatives undertaken by the zoo for the International Year of Forests launched in 2011 by the United Nations (www.un.org / esa / forests).

These animals, in fact, live in the Amazon basin and are ambassadors of the environment increasingly threatened by human presence that deforestation at a relentless pace.