Kingdom   Animalia

Phylum     Chordata

Class        Mammalia

Order        Primates

Family      Callitrichidae

Genus      Saguinus

Species    Saguinus ursula, 12 others

Tamarin Basics

The tamarin is a small New World monkey of the Saguinus genus. The genus has 13 species, all of which reside in the treetops of the Amazon basin and other regions of Central and South America. Most species, like their rainforest home, are vulnerable.

Tamarin Appearance

The golden lion tamarin (S. ursula) is among the best-known species of tamarin. It has a beautiful golden-brown mane, similar to that of male lions. Its tiny, black face and rather lengthy tail are framed by this. Some species have intriguing mustache-like characteristics, while others are black. The weight and length of the 13 species now identified in the genus range from 7.8 to 31.7 ounces (220 to 900 grams) and 5.1 to 11.8 inches (13 to 30 centimetres), excluding their tails.

Diet and Predators

Tamarins inhabit trees, meaning they live in trees throughout their tropical rainforest area. They’ll sleep in tree hollows here at night. They forage for food by leaping and climbing from branch to branch throughout the day. They’ll catch insects, fruit, even tiny lizards and birds using their lengthy fingers.

Tamarins are little primates that are preyed upon by an assortment of predators. They will be consumed by snakes together with their kids. When feasible, wild cats and several kinds of birds of prey will eat tamarins. To evade predation, they rely mostly on their agility and speed to traverse the forest canopy quickly. To avoid being discovered by predators, they would often hide in tree hollows at night.

Social Structure and Breeding

Tamarins are gregarious creatures that live in family groups of up to 40 people. A normal family group, on the other hand, may number about ten people. Males take an active role in rearing their babies, sometimes carrying them around between feedings.

Females usually have a gestation period of around 140 days after copulation. Females often give birth to two offspring at once, typically twins. Males as well as other youngsters in the family would help raise the infant monkeys, providing for kids during the day, and restoring infants to their moms when required, so they can nurse. Tamarins will start eating solid food around the age of one month. They are not completely weaned from their moms until they are roughly 3-4 months old. In their second year, they will reach full growth and emerge as an independent part of the family. In captivity, tamarinds may live up to 18 years, while most species survive for just approximately 10 years.

Conservation Status

Tamarins are mostly found throughout the Amazon rainforest basin, among the greatest biodiverse regions on earth. This is considered one of the most threatened locations in the world. Hundreds of thousands of additional species are losing their native habitats as a result of deforestation caused by logging and agriculture. The IUCN Red List presently lists the golden lion tamarin as endangered, which is an improvement over its former Critically Endangered classification.

Fun Facts about Tamarin!

Tamarins are found in a very small yet vital portion of the earth. The tamarin is a fantastic monkey to learn more about due to the abundance of highly connected species in that kind of small and fertile area.

Difficult to Categorize

The taxonomic classification of tamarinds is not straightforward. The genus Saguinus once consisted of 10 species. On the basis of their individual facial hair arrangements, each was further categorised into morphological characters. Then, dental characteristics were utilised to classify them as two “clades” and 15 species throughout the genus, without subspecies.

In 2016, scientists studied the genus and other primates genetically. This found that several present individuals of the genus, including the saddle-back tamarin (Leontocebus spp.), diverged from another species about 10 million years ago, and are much younger than many monkeys as well as marmosets from genera like Callithrix, Cebuella, and Mico. The saddle-backed tamarin was thus reassigned from Saguinus to Leontocebus, leaving Saguinus with 13 species.

The Golden Touch

The red-handed tamarin has evolved (Saguinus midas) an attractive colour morph. This species is distinguished by the golden hair atop its hands, that contrasts with its predominantly black fur. It is native to the forested regions north of the Amazon river. It also contains some gold flecking on its anterior side and rump.

Fierce Competition

Some tamarin species are shifting as their original ranges are endangered by global climate change, which is changing weather patterns in many locations. As competition for remaining habitat grows strong, this has repercussions for the environment and possibly contribute to the extinction of other tamarin species. Interspecific rivalry between the red-handed marmoset and the pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor), which is growing into the former’s historical territory, is causing the latter to be displaced by the former. This emphasises the difficulties connected with conservation efforts, which may at times try to preserve a vulnerable species by introducing it to a new range, causing damage to other species in the area.