One of the 3 marmosets on WAnimals
Mammals · Primates · Callitrichidae
Emperor Tamarin
Saguinus imperator
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The emperor tamarin is a small primate of the western Amazon, unmistakable for the extremely long white moustache that falls on either side of its mouth. It lives in family groups of between two and eight animals and feeds on fruit, nectar, sap and insects. It frequently forms mixed groups with the golden-mantled tamarin, with which it shares territory, watchfulness and alarm calls: each species is better at detecting a different kind of predator.
Weight
300 g – 500 g
Size
23 cm – 26 cm
Lifespan
17 years
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Family group
Lives in small family groups with close bonds.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- GeneralIts drooping white moustache gave it its name, after the Kaiser Wilhelm II's.
- Its name comes from the German emperor Wilhelm II: the zoologist who described it gave it the epithet imperator half in jest, because its moustache resembled the Kaiser's, and the name ended up official.
- It forms stable mixed groups with another tamarin species: they travel and feed together and share alarm calls, an interspecific alliance that works because each of them watches a different layer of the forest.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Middle storey of the rainforests of the south-western Amazon, secondary forest included
- Birth weight
- Born with its eyes open, clinging to its mother's fur from the first day
- Size at birth
- Born with its eyes open, clinging to its mother's fur from the first day
- Sexual maturity
- 17.9 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 4.8 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 2
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguinus_imperator
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in south-western Amazonia, by day; it often travels alongside other tamarin species in mixed groups.
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Emperor Tamarin — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Northern Pygmy Marmoset
Cebuella pygmaea
Common Marmoset
Callithrix jacchus
Bolivian Squirrel Monkey
Saimiri boliviensis
Golden Lion Tamarin
Leontopithecus rosalia
Common Opossum
Didelphis marsupialis
VulnerableWhite-Lipped Peccary
Tayassu pecari
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about emperor tamarin.
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