The tamarins are

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. ...

-sized New World monkeys from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Callitrichidae The Callitrichidae (also called Arctopitheci or Hapalidae) are a family of New World monkeys, including marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins. At times, this group of animals has been regarded as a subfamily, called the Callitrichinae, of the ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Saguinus''. They are the first offshoot in the Callitrichidae tree, and therefore are the sister group of a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English ter ...

formed by the lion tamarins, Goeldi's monkeys and

marmoset The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are 22 New World monkey species of the genera ''Callithrix'', ''Cebuella'', ''Callibella'', and ''Mico''. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term "marmoset" is ...

Taxonomy and evolutionary history

Hershkovitz (1977) recognised ten species in the genus ''Saguinus'', further divided into 33 morphotypes based on facial pelage. A later classification into two clades was based on variations in dental measurements. A taxonomic review (Rylands et al., 2016) showed the tamarins are a sister group to all other callitrichids, branching off 15–13 million years ago. Within this clade, six species groups are historically recognised, ''nigricollis'', ''mystax'', ''midas'', ''inustus'', ''bicolor'' and ''oedipus'', five of which were shown to be valid with ''Sanguinus inustus'' placed within the ''midas'' group. The review noted that the smaller-bodied ''nigricollis'' group began diverging 11–8 million years ago, leading the authors to move them to a separate genus, '' Leontocebus'' (saddle-back tamarins). While a 2018 study proposed that ''Leontocebus'' does not have sufficient enough divergence from ''Saguinus'' to be in its own genus, and thus should be reclassified it as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between ...

of ''Saguinus'', this proposal has since found significant traction. The same study found the ''mystax'' group of tamarins to be distinct enough to be classified in the subgenus ''Tamarinus.'' As of 2021 this proposal has not been universally accepted by primatologists.

Taxonomic classification

Following the taxonomic review of tamarins by Rylands et al. (2016) and Garbino & Martins-Junior (2018), there are 22 species in the genus ''Saguinus'' with 19 subspecies. *Genus ''Saguinus'' **Subgenus ''Saguinus'' Hoffmannsegg, 1807 ***''S. midas'' group ****

Golden-handed tamarin The golden-handed tamarin (''Saguinus midas''), also known as the red-handed tamarin or Midas tamarin, is a New World monkey belonging to the family Callitrichidae. Distribution and habitat This species is native to wooded areas north of the Am ...

, midas tamarin, or red-handed tamarin, '' Saguinus midas'' **** Western black-handed tamarin or black tamarin, '' Saguinus niger'' **** Eastern black-handed tamarin, '' Saguinus ursulus'' *** ''S. bicolor'' group **** Pied tamarin, '' Saguinus bicolor'' **** Martins's tamarin, '' Saguinus martinsi'' ***** Martins's bare-face tamarin, ''Saguinus martinsi martinsi'' ***** Ochraceus bare-face tamarin, ''Saguinus martinsi ochraceus'' *** ''S. oedipus'' group **** Cotton-top tamarin or Pinché tamarin, '' Saguinus oedipus'' **** Geoffroy's tamarin, '' Saguinus geoffroyi'' ****

White-footed tamarin The white-footed tamarin (''Saguinus leucopus'') is a tamarin species endemic to Colombia. It is a silvery brown colour with pale streaks and russet underparts, and is very similar in appearance to the cotton-top tamarin, from which it is separa ...

, '' Saguinus leucopus'' **Subgenus ''Tamarinus'' Trouessart, 1904 *** Moustached tamarin, '' Saguinus mystax'' **** Spix's moustached tamarin, ''Saguinus mystax mystax'' ****

Red-capped tamarin The red-capped tamarin (''Saguinus mystax pileatus'')'','' is subspecies of moustached tamarin from South America. They are found in Brazil, on the eastern margin of the Tefé River, Tefé and Coari River, Coari rivers. Previously recognised as a ...

, ''Saguinus mystax pileatus'' **** White-rump moustached tamarin, ''Saguinus mystax pluto'' ***

White-lipped tamarin The white-lipped tamarin (''Saguinus labiatus''), also known as the red-bellied tamarin, is a tamarin which lives in the Amazon Rainforest, Amazon area of Brazil and Bolivia. The red belly of these New World monkeys is its most remarkable outwa ...

, '' Saguinus labiatus'' **** Geoffroy's red-bellied tamarin, ''Saguinus labiatus labiatus'' **** Thomas's red-bellied tamarin, ''Saguinus labiatus labiatus'' **** Gray's red-bellied tamarin, ''Saguinus labiatus labiatus'' *** Emperor tamarin, '' Saguinus imperator'' **** Black-chinned emperor tamarin, ''Saguinus imperator imperator'' **** Bearded emperor tamarin, ''Saguinus imperator subgrisescens'' *** Mottle-faced tamarin, '' Saguinus inustus''

Description

Tamarin species vary considerably in appearance, ranging from nearly all black through mixtures of black, brown and white. Mustache-like facial hairs are typical for many species. Their body size ranges from (plus a

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

). They weigh from . In

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

, red-bellied tamarins have been recorded living up to 20.5 years, while cotton-top tamarins can live up to 23 years old.

Distribution

Tamarins range from southern

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

through central

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, where they are found in northwestern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

, the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

, and

the Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France ...

Behavior and reproduction

Tamarins are inhabitants of

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equator ...

s and open forest areas. They are diurnal and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

, and run and jump quickly through the trees. Tamarins live together in groups of up to 40 members consisting of one or more families. More frequently, though, groups are composed of just three to nine members. Tamarins are

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nu ...

s, eating fruits and other plant parts as well as

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...

s, small vertebrates and

bird egg Bird eggs are laid by the females and range in quantity from one (as in condors) to up to seventeen (the grey partridge). Clutch size may vary latitudinally within a species. Some birds lay eggs even when the eggs have not been fertilized; it ...

Gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pr ...

is typically 140 days, and

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

s are normally

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

s. The adult males, subadults, and juveniles in the group assist with caring for the young, bringing them to their mother to nurse. After approximately one month the young begin to eat solid food, although they aren't fully weaned for another two to three months. They reach full maturity in their second year. Tamarins are almost exclusively polyandrous. Cottontop tamarins (''Saguinus oedipus'') breed cooperatively in the wild. Cronin, Kurian, and Snowdon tested eight cottontop tamarins in a series of cooperative pulling experiments. Two monkeys were put on opposite sides of a transparent apparatus containing food. Only if both monkeys pulled a handle on their side of the apparatus towards themselves at the same time would food drop down for them to obtain. The results showed that tamarins pulled the handles at a lower rate when alone with the apparatus than when in the presence of a partner. Cronin, Kurian, and Snowdon concluded from this that cottontop tamarins have a good understanding of cooperation. They suggest that cottontop tamarins have developed cooperative behaviour as a cognitive adaptation. In some locations, saddle-back tamarins (subgenus ''Leontocebus'') live sympatrically with tamarins of the subgenus ''Sanguinus'', but the saddle-back tamarins typically occupy lower strata of the forest than do the ''Sanguinus'' species. Saddle-back tamarins have longer and narrower hands than ''Sanguinus'' species, possibly adaption to differing foraging behavior, as saddle-back tamarins are more likely to search for insects that are hidden in knotholes, crevices,

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

tanks and leaf litter, while ''Sanguinus'' species are more likely to forage for insects that are exposed on surfaces such as leaves or branches. This differentiation in lifestyles was why both were formerly considered different genera.

Predators

While tamarins spend much of their day foraging, they must be on high alert for aerial and terrestrial predators. Due to their small size compared to other primates, they are an easy target for predatory birds, snakes, and mammals.

References

External links

*
Primate Info Net ''Saguinus'' Factsheets
{{Taxonbar, from=Q240034 Tamarins ^ ^