When some sport a flamboyant red coat, others display majestic bacchantes. Whatever its species, the tamarin does not lack allure. Let’s meet an adorable little monkey that jumps from lianas to branches in the forests of Central and South America.
Tamarin is the vernacular name given to several species of monkeys (platyrhines) from the American continent belonging to the family Callitrichidae. Among these small platyrhinian primates of the New World, we find the genera Saguinus (the most represented and commonly called “sago”), Pinches, Callimico and Leontopithecus (namely that the lion tamarins form the genus Leontopithecus). There are fifteen species of tamarins of which the best known are the emperor tamarin, the golden lion tamarin and the Goeldi tamarin.
The tamarin is a kind of monkey that lives in the tropical and equatorial forests of Central and South America. The primate spends most of its time in the trees where it likes to evolve in the melimelos of branches and lianas in order to evolve safely and hide. The lion tamarin also frequents the swampy forests located near the Atlantic coast.
tamarin diet
An omnivorous animal, the tamarin consumes mainly fruits, nectar and flowers which provide it with the nutrients essential for its growth. The primate also eats insects that it picks up easily thanks to its long thin fingers. Some species, like the pinnies, supplement their diet with lizards, worms, frogs, birds or eggs. Others (the lion monkey for example) feed on the sap or resin contained in the trunks of trees.
tamarin endangered
The main threats to the tamarind are deforestation, agriculture and poaching. The growth of the pet market and medical experimentation have contributed to the decline of some species which are classified differently by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): the bicolor tamarin is considered critically endangered while the emperor tamarin is of least concern. In the 1970s, the golden lion tamarin came close to extinction before a worldwide reintroduction plan helped save this small monkey. Despite protection measures, the majority of the species is in a worrying situation. The longevity of the tamarin is ten years in the wild.
