|
Did You Know?
Zoos keep track of the populations of endangered and other species through studbooks. A studbook for a given species tracks the ancestry and key details like birth date and location for each individual in the zoo population. Using this information, we can decide which individuals are most important to breed – usually the ones who don’t have many living relatives. The Philadelphia Zoo maintains the studbook for the pied tamarin.
Viewing Hints
Pied tamarins usually go to sleep early, by mid- or late afternoon. If you don’t see them, particularly later in the day, they are probably asleep in the nest box you can see in the exhibit.
|
Pied tamarin
Saginus bicolor
| Size |
Pied tamarins have a head and body length of 8-11 inches, with a tail length of 13-17 inches. Males and females are the same size. |
| Weight |
In zoos, pied tamarins usually weigh a little over 1 lb. Wild animals probably weigh little less on average, with a weight of 420 grams (~15 ounces) cited by one researcher. Males and females are the same size. |
| Conservation Status |
On the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the pied tamarin is listed as Critically Endangered. |
| Diet |
In the wild, pied tamarins eat invertebrates like insects and spiders and a variety of fruits. They also have been seen to eat flowers and plant gums. In the Zoo, we feed the tamarins a variety of fresh fruits, insects like mealworms and crickets, and a primate “chow” specially formulated for marmosets and tamarins. |
| Geographic Range |
The pied tamarin has one of the smallest geographic ranges of the Amazonian primates. It is found only in a small area of Brazil, in the suburbs of and areas surrounding the city of Manaus, an area densely inhabited by humans and rapidly growing. |
| Where to find me in the Zoo |
Rare Animal Conservation Center |
Note: Description below should include Longevity, Behavior, and Reproduction information
The pied tamarin is a small monkey found in tropical forests, particularly secondary and edge forests, in a small area around the city of Manaus in Brazil. In adults, the head is bald, with black skin, which along with the large ears, gives this tamarin a striking look. The fur on the shoulders and the front of the body is white, contrasting with a brown back and hindquarters, shading to rust-red on the inner thighs and lower belly. The tail usually blackish to pale brown above, reddish to orange below.
The Philadelphia Zoo was the first zoo in the U.S. to breed this species, which is Critically Endangered in the wild. Since the first births in 1994, many pied tamarins have been born at the Zoo, and we coordinate the zoo breeding program in the U.S.
Longevity
In zoos, a typical lifespan for a pied tamarin is about eight or nine years. A few individuals live into their late teens, but as in other animals, most don’t reach maximum ages. Typical lifespan in the wild is not known, but is probably shorter than in zoos.
Behavior
The pied tamarin lives in small family groups. In the wild, groups ranging from 2-10 individuals have been reported. In one study, a family group used an area of about 30 acres, but home range probably varies across groups. Groups mark their area using secretions from scent glands, which they rub on branches. Scent-marking may also be important for communication within a group.
Pied tamarins are diurnal (active during the day) and arboreal. They make birdlike chirps and whistles.
Reproduction
Gestation has not been precisely determined, but appears to be more than 185 days, about six months, which is long for a monkey this small. In zoos births occur throughout the year. One unusual characteristic noted from zoo groups is the tendency for births to occur in the afternoon, rather than overnight after dark, which is typical for most marmosets and tamarins. Twins are usual for pied tamarins, as well as for other marmosets and tamarins, but females sometimes give birth to single babies or to triplets. Although bald as adults, newborn babies have white fur on the cheeks, forehead and top of the head, which they lose as they get older.
Socks: Male, captive born at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2004. Received at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 18, 2007.
Twiggy: Female, captive born at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in the United Kingdom on November 30, 2001. Received at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 18, 2007.
Napolean & Pedra: Male and female, born on May 20, 2008 to Socks and Twiggy.
Baby: Born on December 10, 2008 to Socks and Twiggy.
Babies: Born on June 30, 2009 to Socks and Twiggy.
The Zoo also has two other pied tamarin family groups in off-exhibit locations: Kink with a daughter born May 26, 2008 and triplets born January 8, 2009; and Robert & Inca with a son born February 8, 2008, a son born August 26, 2008, and twin sons born April 29, 2009.
Enrichment
Adoption Information
Featured Foster Parent
Sources:
1) Philadelphia Zoo staff; 2) Hershkovitz, P. 1977. Living New World monkeys (Platyrrhini): with an Introduction to Primates, Volume 1. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago; 3) Ayres, J.M., Mittermeier, R.A. and Constable, I.D. 1982. Brazilian tamarins on the way to extinction? Oryx 16(4): 329-333; 4) Egler, S.G. 1992. Feeding ecology of Saguinus bicolor bicolor (Callitrichidae: Primates) in a relict forest in Manaus, Brazilian Amazonia. Folia Primatologica 59(2): 61-76; 5) Egler, S.G. 1993. First field study of the pied tamarin, Saguinus bicolor bicolor. Neotropical Primates 1(2): 13-14;
6) Emmons, L.H. 1990. Monkeys (Primates). In Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: a Field Guide (University of Chicago Press, Chicago), pp. 100-107; 7) IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 14 February 2008.
|