Primatology.net

I have a bit of good news bad news. First the good. On September 1st, 2006, the Frösö Zoo in Ostersund, Sweden welcomed the birth of two albino pygmy marmoset twins. These pygmy marmosets are exceedingly rare, and it is not because they’re twins… pygmy marmosets are typically born in pairs. The significance of their rarity is because they’re albinos, deficient in pigment.

Pygmy marmosets (Callithrix pygmaea) are the world’s smallest species of “true” monkey. These little ones, live in trees and makes big noise, contributing clicks, whistles, and squeals to the cacophony of their home habitat, the western Amazon rain forest of South America. Adults grow to about 5 inches (13 centimeters) in length and weigh about 6 ounces (170 grams).

The bad news is that one of them died shortly after birth. Ake Netterstrom, the zoo’s owner told London’s Daily Mail.

“We put in all available resources to save him, but that did not help. It is likely he had a lower immune defense because he was albino.”