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 sister group of a clade formed by the saddle-back tamarins, lion tamarins, Goeldi's monkeys and marmosets.[3]

This article is about the New World monkey. For the tropical plant, see Tamarind. For other uses, see Tamarin (disambiguation).

Tamarins[1][2]
Emperor tamarin (Saguinus imperator)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Callitrichidae
Genus: Saguinus
Hoffmannsegg, 1807
Type species
Saguinus ursula
Species

13 species, see text

Synonyms
  • Hapanella Gray, 1870
  • Marikina Lesson, 1840
  • Midas E. Geoffroy, 1812
  • Mystax Gray, 1870
  • Oedipomidus Reichenbach, 1862
  • Oedipus Lesson, 1840
  • Seniocebus Gray, 1870
  • Tamarin Gray, 1870
  • Tamarinus Trouessart, 1904

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.

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]

Classification

References
  1. Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 133–136. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. Rylands, Anthony B.; Mittermeier, Russell A. (2009). "The Diversity of the New World Primates (Platyrrhini): An Annotated Taxonomy". In Garber, PA; Estrada, A; Bicca-Marques, JC; Heymann, EW; Strier, KB (eds.). South American Primates: Comparative Perspectives in the Study of Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Springer. pp. 21–54. ISBN 978-0-387-78704-6.
  3. Garbino, Guilherme S.T.; Martins-Junior, Antonio M.G. (2018). "Phenotypic evolution in marmoset and tamarin monkeys (Cebidae, Callitrichinae) and a revised genus-level classification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 118: 156–171. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.10.002. PMID 28989098.
  4. Hershkovitz, Philip (1977). Living New World Monkeys (Platyrrhini): With an Introduction to Primates (1st ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226327884.
  5. Cronin, Katherine A.; Kurian, Aimee V.; Snowdon, Charles T. (2005). "Cooperative problem solving in a cooperatively breeding primate (Saguinus oedipus)". Animal Behaviour. 69 (1): 133–142. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.02.024. PMC 1483064. PMID 16804561.
  6. Miller, Lynne (2002). Eat or be Eaten. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-01104-4.
  7. Natori, M.; Hanihara, T. (1992). "Variations in dental measurements between Saguinus species and their systematic relationships". Folia Primatologica. 58 (2): 84–92. doi:10.1159/000156612. PMID 1612537.
  8. Ferrari, Stephen; Silva, Suleima. "Notes on the reproduction, behaviour and diet of Sanguinus niger (Primates: Callitrichidae) in a forest remnant at the National Primate Centre, Ananindeua, Pará". Retrieved 2016-07-12. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. Rylands, Anthony B.; Eckhard W. Heymann; Jessica Lynch Alfaro; Janet C. Buckner; Christian Roos; Christian Matauschek; Jean P. Boubli; Ricardo Sampaio; and Russell A. Mittermeier (2016). "Taxonomic Review of the New World Tamarins (Primates: Callitrichidae)" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 177 (4): 1003–1028. doi:10.1111/zoj.12386. Retrieved 2020-04-19.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  10. "Leontocebus Wagner, 1840". ITIS. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  11. "Leontocebus". American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  12. Gregorin, R.; De Vivo, M. (2013). "Revalidation of Saguinus ursula Hoffmannsegg (Primates: Cebidae: Callitrichinae)". Zootaxa. 3721 (2): 172–182. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3721.2.4.
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