The moustached tamarin (''Saguinus mystax'') is a

New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboi ...

and a species of

tamarin The tamarins are squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Callitrichidae in the genus ''Saguinus''. They are the first offshoot in the Callitrichidae tree, and therefore are the sister group of a clade formed by the lion tamarins, Go ...

. The moustached tamarin is named for the lack of coloring in the facial hair surrounding their mouth, appearing similar to a

moustache A moustache (; mustache, ) is a growth of facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the human nose, nose. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French language, French, and i ...

. As with all New World monkeys, the moustached tamarin is found only in areas of Central and South America.

Taxonomy

There are 3 subspecies of the moustached tamarin: *

Spix's moustached tamarin The moustached tamarin (''Saguinus mystax'') is a New World monkey and a species of tamarin. The moustached tamarin is named for the lack of coloring in the facial hair surrounding their mouth, appearing similar to a moustache. As with all New Wo ...

, ''Saguinus mystax mystax'' * White-rumped moustached tamarin, ''Saguinus mystax pluto'' * Red-capped tamarin, ''Saguinus mystax pileatus''

Description

Moustached tamarins have a lifespan of about 20 years in captivity, likely lower in the wild. They are small, weighing 500 to 600 grams, and range in length from 30 to 92 centimeters, with adult females larger than males. Moustached tamarin monkeys are characterized by white, curly hair around their mouth, similar to a moustache. Their face is flat with almond-like shaped eyes. Their ears are furry and large, and they have long, silky, body hair. They have a brownish-black body with a white moustache and white nose. They have tegula, which are claw-like nails, on each digit except their big toe. These claws allow them to easily cling to trees while they feed. They have conical or spatulate incisors, which are used for cutting food, and are smaller than their canines. The lingual and labial sides of their incisors have a thick layer of enamel. Unlike most New World Monkeys, the moustached tamarin monkey has non-opposable thumbs and lacks a

prehensile tail A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has Adaptation (biology), adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully Prehensility, prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and ...

Vision

Heterozygous Zygosity (the noun, zygote, is from the Greek "yoked," from "yoke") () is the degree to which both copies of a chromosome or gene have the same genetic sequence. In other words, it is the degree of similarity of the alleles in an organism. Mos ...

females, which make up about 60% of the female tamarin population, have

trichromatic vision Trichromacy or trichromatism is the possession of three independent channels for conveying color information, derived from the three different types of cone cells in the eye. Organisms with trichromacy are called trichromats. The normal expla ...

, while the remaining moustached tamarin population have dichromatic vision. Trichromatic vision is the capacity to see a broader range of color due to the presence of three color receptors in the

retina The retina (; or retinas) is the innermost, photosensitivity, light-sensitive layer of tissue (biology), tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some Mollusca, molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focus (optics), focused two-dimensional ...

, at the back of the eye, allowing them to distinguish between greens, blues and reds. Humans, as well as most species of Old World Monkeys, have trichromatic visual abilities; however, some female New World monkeys do as well. Dichromatic vision is a form of color vision in which only two of the primary colors are perceived. Trichromatic vision is an evolutionary adaptation that enables females to more easily find and identify fruit. Color vision is a contributing factor for leadership selection in troops.

Habitat and distribution

Moustached tamarins are inhabitants of tropical rainforests in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. They live in arid, upland forests in the Amazonian lowland, mostly occupying higher tree branches. The home range of moustached tamarins is between 25 and 50 hectares.

Ecology

Moustached tamarins are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

frugivorous A frugivore ( ) is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance ...

and

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

. Their diet mainly consists of fruits, nectar, gum

exudates An exudate is a fluid released by an organism through pores or a wound, a process known as exuding or exudation. ''Exudate'' is derived from ''exude'' 'to ooze' from Latin 'to (ooze out) sweat' (' 'out' and ' 'to sweat'). Medicine An exudate ...

invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

and small

vertebrates Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

. Invertebrates include katydids, stick grasshoppers, and spiders. Vertebrates include lizards and frogs. Gum feeding is seasonal, however it is a dietary staple during dry and early wet seasons when other resources are scarce. Exudates supplement nutrients and balance mineral intake; which prevent the species from experiencing a range of detrimental effects from a low-calcium and high-phosphorus insectivorous diet. They display a highly opportunistic foraging pattern, and the ratio and variety of their comestibles depend on the availability in their geographical location. Moustached tamarins select trees by the amount of nectar they yield, rather than proximity to their home range. This higher volume of nectar makes the chosen trees more reliable because it allows them to feed for longer periods. Their remarkable

spatial memory In cognitive psychology and neuroscience, spatial memory is a form of memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information needed to plan a course to a location and to recall the location of an object or the occurrence of an event. Sp ...

allows them to quickly recall the location of fruiting trees. Spatial memory is vital because it aids in the exploitation of a widely scattered set of feeding sites and minimizes effort in foraging. The moustached tamarin monkey is a crucial seed disperser for many plant species as a result of their diverse diet. They spread the seeds of fruits they ingest, indirectly impacting forest regeneration and maintenance. They are opportunistic feeders, utilizing a wide range of plant resources, allowing them to disperse a variety of seed species, providing significant benefit to their ecosystem.

Interspecific relationships

Moustached tamarins are territorial, however, they sometimes join with groups of

brown-mantled tamarin The brown-mantled tamarin (''Leontocebus fuscicollis''), also known as Spix's saddle-back tamarin, is a species of saddle-back tamarin. This New World monkey is found in the Southern American countries of Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. This Omnivore, ...

s (''Leontocebus fuscicollis'') and Geoffroy's saddle-back tamarin (''Leontocebus nigrifrons''). These species can cohabit because they have varying locomotor types, hunting techniques, support preference, food selection, and reside in different strata of their forest habitat. The brown-mantled tamarin and the moustached tamarin do not compete for the same resources. Sharing territory with another species facilitates predator avoidance, increasing survival chances for both groups. Having more eyes and ears provides greater protection.

Behaviour

Moustached tamarins are

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 (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

, diurnal, and

precocial Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...

. Tamarins walk and run on all fours, similar to squirrels and use their claws for stability. The moustached tamarin monkey exercises three types of locomotion. Symmetrical

quadrupedalism Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion in which animals have four legs that are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four legs is said to be a quadruped (fr ...

is the most frequently used locomotion type, followed by asymmetric quadrupedalism, and leaping. The kind of leap depends on the layer of the forest they occupy. In the lower canopy “trunk-to-trunk” leaps are performed. These are jumps that are short and quick, only reaching a length of 1 to 2 meters. While standing on a medium or large-sized trunk, they propel themselves into the air and land on their front limbs on another trunk. They perform “bounding” leaps which allow them to cross between discontinuous trees, extending their legs farther out, reaching up to 2 meters. In the high canopy, they perform “acrobatic” leaps. These are longer leaps, reaching 5 meters or more, used to travel between treetops. While in the air, they use their tail to decelerate their body before landing on the crown of a nearby tree. Moustached tamarin monkeys select densely foliated areas for resting and sleeping to best camouflage themselves because their small size makes them an easy target. Their main tactic is to avoid predation by attracting as little attention as possible. Their predators include eagles and other birds of prey, snakes, tayras, jaguarundis,

ocelots The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean island ...

and other wild cats. Social grooming can be used to develop bonds. The moustached tamarins use their claws to detangle and comb one another's hair and remove

parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...

and dirt with their teeth and tongue. Social grooming is not equally exercised by members and the amount of grooming services given and received depends on the social position of the individual. Scent marking is used to identify territory boundaries and to communicate with others. Females practice scent marking more frequently than males because it is also used in mate selection. The three types of scent marking are circumanal marking, suprapubic marking and sternal marking. Circumanal marking is the most commonly used type of scent marking. Visual communication includes facial expressions, gestures, tonguing, and head-flicking. Tonguing is when a moustached tamarin moves its tongue across its lips. Head-flicking is when a moustached tamarin rapidly moves its head in an upward motion. Tonguing and head-flicking often co-occur and are used to communicate recognition, curiosity or anger.

Group dynamics

Group sizes are usually 4-8 individuals, excluding infants, and each group usually contains 1 or 2 adult females. However, groups have been observed to reach up to 15 individuals and solitary individuals have been encountered. Routinely, groups of moustached tamarins leave early in the morning to forage for food. They do not feed simultaneously. One of the adults positions themselves near the feeding site and scans the surroundings for predators to protect the group during mealtimes. They then retire at night in highly foliated areas to protect themselves from predators during slumber.

Conflict

There is often strife between neighboring groups of moustached tamarins due to limited food resources, especially near large feeding trees. Vocal battles can arise, with long calls that consist of short syllables at a high frequency. This type of conflict occurs between groups that are 25 meters or more apart. Fights can be more aggressive however, often including alarm calls, visual contact,

scent marking In ethology, territory is the sociographical area that an animal consistently defends against conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against animals of other species) using agonistic behaviors or (less commonly) real physical aggression. ...

and a series of chases and retreats. Adult males attack, inducing combative and loud vocalizations, while subadults chase one another. Subsequently, there is a period of calm, and both groups forage for food and subadults examine the opposing group for mating opportunities. The frequency of aggressive encounters increases during the breeding season and the majority of copulations occur during or directly after an aggressive encounter.

Vocalizations

Vocalizations allow moustached tamarins to distinguish between individuals, organize group movements, and ensure all members are accounted for. If individuals become separated, individuals of the same group will produce 2 to 3 second long vocalizations to indicate their location. These calls consist of repeated short, frequency-modulated syllables ranging from 8 to 12 kilohertz. In the morning, moustached tamarins make calls to each other to coordinate movement for the day towards specific foraging sites. Young tamarins also make vocalizations while they run and chase each other during play.

Reproduction

The reproduction season of the moustached tamarin monkey is November to March, during which the oldest female reproduces. Females go into

oestrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is a set of recurring physiological changes induced by reproductive hormones in females of mammalian subclass Theria. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phas ...

for about 17 days. Their

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 pregn ...

period is about 145 days, after which females give birth. Other members of the group help to take care of the infants, allowing the female to give birth more than once a year. The eldest female frequently bears twins because they ovulate multiple ova during each reproductive cycle. The twins can be up to a quarter of the mother's size at birth. Females reach reproductive maturity at about 480 days, and males at 540 days. Both sexes migrate to a different group in adulthood to avoid the risk of inbreeding. Moustached tamarins practice a variety of mating systems:

polyandry Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives ...

polygyny Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); . Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...

polygynandry Polygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season. In sexually reproducing diploid animals, different mating strategies are employed by males and females, because the cost of gam ...

. The mothers often receive help from up to 4 or 5 other members of the group. In polyandrous groups, the alpha male tolerates the presence of other males who can provide infant-care. Not having enough helpers can sometimes lead to

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...

by the mother.

Conservation

The population trend for the moustached tamarin monkey is decreasing; however, the

IUCN red list The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

categorizes the moustache tamarin as least concerned. They have demonstrated an ability to adapt to disturbed habitats and proximity to human settlements. They can acclimate well to changes in environmental conditions and their ecosystem.

Habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

remains an inevitable threat to their population as for all species living in the Amazonian rainforest. However, their ability to adapt gives hope that this factor will not severely affect their population numbers.

Economic importance

Moustached tamarin monkeys are economically significant because they are used extensively in biomedical research, like other tamarin species. They have been used in the development of the

hepatitis A vaccine Hepatitis A vaccine is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis A. It is effective in around 95% of cases and lasts for at least twenty years and possibly a person's entire life. If given, two doses are recommended beginning after the age of one. It ...