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 sister group of a
clade formed by the
saddle-back tamarins,
lion tamarins,
Goeldi's monkeys and
marmosets.
[3]
Description
Different 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
13 to 30 cm (5.1 to 11.8 in) (plus a 25-to-44 cm-long (9.8-to-17.3 in)
tail) and they
weigh from 220 to 900 grams (7.8 to 31.7 oz). Tamarins differ from
marmosets primarily in having lower
canine teeth that are clearly longer than the
incisors. In
captivity, tamarins can live for up to 18 years.
[citation needed]
Distribution
Tamarins range from southern
Central America through central
South America, where they are found in northwestern
Colombia, the
Amazon basin, and
the Guianas.
[4]
Behavior and reproduction
Tamarins are inhabitants of
tropical rainforests and open forest areas. They are
diurnal and
arboreal,
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
omnivores, eating fruits and other plant parts as well as
spiders,
insects, small vertebrates and
bird eggs.
Gestation is typically 140 days, and
births are normally
twins.
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.
[5]
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.
[6]
Taxonomy
The first classification of
Saguinus tamarins contained ten different species, further divided into 33 morphotypes based on facial pelage.
[4] A later classification into two clades was based on variations in dental measurements.
[7] The latest classification postulates fifteen species with no subspecies.
[8] A
genetic
review in 2016 revealed that the oldest species groups first began
diverging 11–8 million years ago (considerably earlier than the
divergence between
Callithrix,
Cebuella and
Mico), leading the authors to move the
saddle-back tamarins to a separate genus,
Leontocebus.
[9][10][11] Other authors argued that the
mystax group of tamarins is distinct enough to be classified in the subgenus
Tamarinus.[3]
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