The tamarins are

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

-sized

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 ...

s from the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 th ...

in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

formed by the lion tamarins, Goeldi's monkeys and

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

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 ''Saguinus 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 divergence from ''Saguinus'' to be in its own genus, and thus should be reclassified it as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( 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 the ge ...

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, 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 The pied tamarin (''Saguinus bicolor''), sometimes referred to as the Brazilian bare-faced tamarin, is a critically endangered species of primate found in a restricted area of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. It was named the mascot of Manaus, Ma ...

, '' 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 The cotton-top tamarin (''Saguinus oedipus'') is a small New World monkey weighing less than . This New World monkey can live up to 24 years, but most of them die by 13 years. One of the smallest primates, the cotton-top tamarin is easily reco ...

or Pinché tamarin, ''

Saguinus oedipus The cotton-top tamarin (''Saguinus oedipus'') is a small New World monkey weighing less than . This New World monkey can live up to 24 years, but most of them die by 13 years. One of the smallest primates, the cotton-top tamarin is easily recogn ...

'' **** Geoffroy's tamarin, ''

Saguinus geoffroyi Geoffroy's tamarin (''Saguinus geoffroyi''), also known as the Panamanian, red-crested or rufous-naped tamarin, is a tamarin, a type of small monkey, found in Panama and Colombia. It is predominantly black and white, with a reddish nape. Diur ...

'' **** White-footed tamarin, '' Saguinus leucopus'' **Subgenus ''Tamarinus'' Trouessart, 1904 *** Moustached tamarin, ''

Saguinus mystax 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 ...

'' **** Spix's moustached tamarin, ''Saguinus mystax mystax'' **** Red-capped tamarin, ''Saguinus mystax pileatus'' **** White-rump moustached tamarin, ''Saguinus mystax pluto'' *** White-lipped tamarin, '' Saguinus labiatus'' **** Geoffroy's red-bellied tamarin, ''Saguinus labiatus labiatus'' **** Thomas's red-bellied tamarin, ''Saguinus labiatus thomasi'' **** Gray's red-bellied tamarin, ''Saguinus labiatus rufiventer'' ***

Emperor tamarin The emperor tamarin (''Saguinus imperator'') is a species of tamarin monkey allegedly named for its beard's resemblance to the German Empire, German List_of_German_monarchs#German_Empire,_1871–1918, emperor Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Wilhelm I ...

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

-like facial hairs are typical for many species. Their body size ranges from (plus a

tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

). They weigh from . In captivity, red-bellied tamarins have been recorded living up to 20.5 years, while

cotton-top tamarin The cotton-top tamarin (''Saguinus oedipus'') is a small New World monkey weighing less than . This New World monkey can live up to 24 years, but most of them die by 13 years. One of the smallest primates, the cotton-top tamarin is easily reco ...

s can live up to 23 years old.

Distribution

Tamarins are found from southern

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

through to central

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, where they are found in northwestern

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, 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 ...

, and the Guianas.

Behavior and reproduction

Tamarins are inhabitants of

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

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

, 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 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 t ...

s, eating fruits and other plant parts as well as

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

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). Avian clutch size, Clutch size may vary latitudinally within a species. Some birds lay eggs even when the eggs have not been ...

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 ...

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 Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

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 are not fully

weaned Weaning is the process of gradually introducing an infant human or other mammal to what will be its adult diet while withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk. In the UK, weaning primarily refers to the introduction of solid foods at 6 mont ...

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 ''Saguinus'', but the saddle-back tamarins typically occupy lower strata of the forest than do the ''Saguinus'' species. Saddle-back tamarins have longer and narrower hands than ''Saguinus'' 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 (biology), family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the Tropics, tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and on ...

tanks and

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

, while ''Saguinus'' 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
{{Authority control Callitrichidae Primates of South America Taxa named by Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg