The embryology of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

Earlier studies have noted the unusual placental anatomy of marmosets and the high frequency of biovular, synchorial twinning. The maintenance of a captive colony of Callithrix jacchus has enabled further studies to be made of embryonic development in this species. Thirty-six embryos from seventeen pregnancies were examined in detail and assigned to horizons on the basis of Streeter's classification of external form and internal structure. The specimens represented tha major part of the embryonic period and, with few exceptions, the structural development of the marmoset closely resembled that of the other primates that have been described. Marmoset embryos of a given horizon were consistently shorter than those of man. The timing of morphogenesis in C. jacchus was different from that observed in man and other primates. There was a considerable delay in early embryogenesis in the marmoset, although subsequent to stage XI, development proceeded at approximately the same rate as other primates. The available evidence suggested that this anomaly was not due to delayed implantation or embryonic diapause but to a generally slower rate of early development. The evolution of synchorial twinning is considered as a possible reason for this mode of development.