fbpx

KidsKonnect

Cotton-top Tamarin Facts & Worksheets

Also known as the cotton-headed tamarin and crested tamarin, one of the rarest monkeys in the world.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /Science /Cotton-top Tamarin Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Also known as the cotton-headed tamarin and crested tamarin, the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) is among the small New World primates distinct for their long, white sagittal crest spreading from its forehead to its shoulders.

See the fact file below for more information on the cotton-top tamarin or alternatively, you can download our 29-page Cotton-top Tamarin worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Taxonomy And Naming

  • Its name originated from the white hair that extends from its head down to its neck. In Spanish, cotton-top tamarins are commonly called bichichi, tití pielroja, “tití blanco, tití cabeza blanca, or tití leoncito. Meanwhile, German-speaking regions address these primates as Lisztaffe, literally “Liszt monkey”, based on its crest which shows a lot of resemblance to the hairstyle of Hungarian composer and piano prodigy Franz Liszt.
  • In 1758, Carl Linnaeus initially described the cotton-top tamarin in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae, calling them Simia oediupus. Linnaeus selected oedipus, which means “swollen foot”, as its specific name, although its feet are not relatively large.
  • In 1977, American mammalogist completed a taxonomic analysis of the cotton-top tamarin according to its fur coloration patterns, cranial and mandibular morphology, and ear size. From his study, he grouped Geoffroy’s tamarin S. geoffroyi as a subspecies of S. oedipus. 
  • Other researchers, such as Thorington, suggested that S. oedipus is more closely associated with the white-footed tamarin (S. leucopus) than to S. geoffroyi.

Physical Characteristics

  • Together with the marmosets and other tamarins, the cotton-top tamarin is among the most diminutive family of monkeys, Callitrichidae. It weighs an average of 432 g, with a head-body length of about 20.8 to 25.9 cm and a prehensile tail of about 33 to 41 cm. 
  • It is not sexually dimorphic; males and females are almost exactly the same size and weight. 
  • As a member of the Callitrichidae family, a cotton-top tamarin has sharp nails, called tegulae, on all digits, resembling that of a squirrel’s claws which help with movement through trees. Its big toes, on the other hand, have flat nails, called ungulae, which is a common feature of all other primates.
  • It sports a long sagittal crest covered with white fur running from its forehead down to its nape, flowing over the shoulders. It has black skin on the face with gray or white bands found right above the eyes, continuing along the edge of the face down to the jaw.
  • Tamarins are generally grouped into three according to their facial characteristics: hairy-faced, mottled-faced, and bare-faced. Fine white hair covering its face is so delicate that it tends to appear almost naked, thus it is sometimes classified as a bare-faced tamarin. 
  • Its lower canine teeth are longer than the incisors, forming the appearance of tusks. It also has two molar teeth on both sides of the jaw, unlike other New World monkeys which have three.
  • The cotton-top tamarin is covered with fur on all parts of its body except for the palms of the hands and feet, eyelids, the borders of the nostrils, nipples, anus, and genitalia. Its back is brown, and the underparts, arms, and legs are filled with whitish-yellow fur. The rump, inner thighs, and upper tail are reddish-orange. 
  • Other individuals have stripes or whorls of fur of vibrant coloration on their throats. 
  • It also has whiskers on its forehead and around its mouth.

Habitat for Distribution

  • The cotton-top tamarin is endemic to a small region of northwest Colombia, between the Cauca and Magdalena Rivers to the south and east, the Atlantic coast to the north, and the Atrato River to the west. 
  • Habitat loss through deforestation caused cotton-top tamarins to thrive and survive in fragmented parks and reserves.
  • It usually lives in both primary and secondary forests, from humid tropical forests in the south of its range to tropical dry forests in the north, choosing lower levels of the tropical forests. However, there are also instances when it can be seen foraging on the ground and between the understory and the canopy. 

Ecology

  • The cotton-top tamarin observes 40% fruit and 40% animal material diet, consisting of insects, plant exudates such as gum, sap, nectar, and sporadically reptiles and amphibians. Given its small body stature and high food passage rate, its diet should be high-quality and high-energy. 
  • Insectivory is also practiced by a cotton-top tamarin as it hunts for insects through a number of approaches: stealth, pouncing, chasing, exploring holes, and turning over leaves. 
  • Tamarins, in general, function as seed dispersers in tropical ecosystems, feeding on smaller seeds while larger monkeys eat the larger ones.
  • It is diurnal, or active during the daytime, and sleeps together with its social group in trees with foliage cover. The group abandons the sleeping tree together an hour after dawn and devotes the day to finding food, resting, wandering, and grooming.
  • The cotton-top tamarin is assumed to rise late and immediately forage and travel before dusk to escape crepuscular and nocturnal predators. It is primarily preyed upon by raptors, mustelids, felids, and snakes.
  • It is extremely alert and cautious, always on the lookout for potential danger. When the group is resting, one cotton-top tamarin separates and acts as a sentry to warn the group if it spots a nearby threat.

Behavior

  • The cotton-top tamarin is an extremely social primate that thrives in groups of two to nine individuals, but most reach up to 13 members, practicing a clear dominance hierarchy within a party. The head of the group makes up the breeding pair, which typically forms a monogamous relationship.
  • It displays prosocial behavior that leverages other members of the party, and is distinguished for engaging in cooperative breeding wherein the group’s subordinate adults assist in raising the young of the dominant pair.
  • It produces bird-like whistles, soft chirping sounds, high-pitched trilling, and staccato calls. Among its vocalizations, the combination long call and the alarm call are the most used in literature. However, in the presence of food, the cotton-top tamarin makes selective, specialized calls which include the C-call, produced when it approaches and sorts forage, and the D-call, which is related to food retrieval and is observed while eating.

Conservation Status

  • The cotton-top tamarin is classified as critically endangered, and was listed in “The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates between 2008 and 2012”. Currently, its population in the wild is estimated to be about 6,000 individuals, with 2,000 adults.
  • Habitat destruction is the main threat that caused their numbers’ decline. 

Cotton-top Tamarin Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about the cotton-top tamarin across 29 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Cotton-top Tamarin worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the cotton-top tamarin which is also known as the cotton-headed tamarin and crested tamarin, the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) is among the small New World primates distinct for their long, white sagittal crest spreading from its forehead to its shoulders.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Cotton-top Tamarin Facts
  • Little Einstein Primates
  • Facts Only
  • Growing Up a Cotton Head
  • Word Search
  • Year of the Monkey
  • Stay Alive 
  • Other New World Primates
  • Complete the Puzzle
  • About Monkey Einstein
  • Parental Care Comics

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Cotton-top Tamarin Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 29, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources