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Scientific Name : Sanguinus o. oedipus
Cotton-top tamarins are found in a fairly small area in Northwest Columbia.
They live in tropical rainforests, especially preferring areas with thick undergrowth at the edge of the forest. They spend nearly all their time in the trees, scampering and leaping through the branches by day and curling up in a clump of leaves or a tree-hole by night.
they eat mostly fruit and
insects, which they grab with their hands and bite with their sharp teeth. They
also enjoy frogs, lizards, tree gum and nectar.
Animals with a mixed diet like this are omnivorous.
Quick and agile like all tamarins, they are pretty hard to catch, but some do get eaten by birds of prey, snakes and small cats such as ocelots.
The average size of a tamarin group is six. Out of this group, only one of the females is allowed to breed, and she gives birth to twins twice a year. The unusual thing about tamarins is that the males take care of the young, only handing them back to the mother for feeding. The father is the main carer but he is helped by all the males in the group.
The young can fend for themselves at 5 months, and are ready to breed when they are 18 - 24 months old. However, they will only breed if they transfer to another group or if their parents die.
Unlike most other monkeys, tamarins have claws, not nails. These enable them to grip branches and are useful grooming tools. Tamarins form close friendships by grooming one another.
Tamarins talk to each other with a selection of high pitched squeaks that sound a bit like bird calls.
They use scents from special glands to mark their territory and tell other tamarins where they have been.
Their tails ( unlike
those of the spider monkeys) are not prehensile so can not grip. Tamarins
use their tails for balance as they run and leap through branches.
Facts and Figures |
|
Name |
cotton-top tamarin |
Type of animal |
mammal |
Where found |
South America |
Habitat |
tropical rainforest |
Diet |
omnivorous |
Average length |
24 cm |
Average weight |
0.4 kg |
Average number of young per year |
1 |
Gestation |
142 days |
Maximum lifespan |
13 |