Geoffroy's tamarin | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Family: | Callitrichidae |
Genus: | Saguinus |
Species: | S. geoffroyi |
Binomial name | |
Saguinus geoffroyi (Pucheran, 1845) |
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Distribution of Saguinus geoffroyi | |
Synonyms | |
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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. Diurnal, Geoffroy's tamarin spends most of its time in trees, but does come down to the ground occasionally. It lives in groups that most often number between three and five individuals, and generally include one or more adults of each sex. It eats a variety of foods, including insects, exudates, fruits and other plant parts. Insects and fruits account for the majority of its diet, but exudates are also important. But since its teeth are not adapted for gouging trees to get to the sap, it can only eat exudates when they are easily available.
Although a variety of reproductive methods are used, the most common is for a single adult female in the group to be reproductively active and to mate with multiple adult males in the group. After a gestation period of about 145 days, she gives birth to either a single infant or twins. Males contribute significantly to care of the infants. Sexual maturity is reached at about 2 years, and it can live up to 13 years. Geoffroy's tamarin is classified as being of "least concern" by the IUCN.
Like the other tamarins and marmosets, Geoffroy's tamarin is a New World monkey classified within the family Callitrichidae. In 2001, Colin Groves included the Callitrichids in the family Cebidae, which also includes capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys, but in 2009 Anthony Rylands and Russell Mittermeier reverted to older classifications which considered Callitrichidae a separate family. It is a member the genus Saguinus, the genus containing most tamarins. There are no recognized subspecies. In 1977, Philip Hershkovitz classified Geoffroy's tamarin as a subspecies of the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), which resides exclusively in Colombia, based on fur coloration, cranial and mandibular morphology, and ear size. However, more recent research indicates that the two taxa differ sufficiently to be considered separate species.