Golden Lion Tamarin

Quick Take

• This tiny monkey clawed its way back from the brink of extinction, and the method conservationists used to do it is not what you'd expect. Conservation comeback details →
• Unlike almost every other primate on Earth, the golden lion tamarin has a physical feature that sets it apart. This unique trait is the reason it can survive where others can't. See the unique feature →
• Its first year of life hides a sobering statistic that reframes just how precarious existence in the Brazilian rainforest really is. First-year mortality stats →
• The golden lion tamarin crossed an ocean millions of years ago, and the way it supposedly did so sounds completely implausible. How they crossed an ocean →

Sometimes called a golden marmoset, it has a long tail, reddish-gold fur, and a dramatic mane that frames its face. Due in part to shrinking habitat, the golden lion tamarin population has dwindled dangerously near extinction, but intensive conservation efforts over recent decades have pulled it back to endangered status. As of 2015, about 1,400 individuals occupied the rainforests of Brazil’s southern Atlantic coast.

5 Facts About The Golden Lion Tamarin

• Females typically give birth to twins.
• The golden lion tamarin has a high risk of mortality — close to 50 percent — in its first year of life.
• This type of monkey has an average lifespan of around 10 to 15 years in the wild.
• It mainly eats fruit, nuts, and small animals.
• It has claw-like nails rather than flat nails like other primates.

Evolution And Origin

As a New World monkey, the golden lion tamarin is a descendant of an ancient African primate that is said to have migrated to South America on a raft constructed of vegetation. Due to a lack of fossil evidence, the exact origin of the early primates is not entirely known. New World monkeys are believed to have begun appearing in the middle of the Cenozoic epoch, during the Paleogene era, around 66 million to 23 million years ago, and they most likely split from Old World monkeys sometime around 40 million years ago.

Classification and Scientific Name

The golden lion tamarin is a small, New World monkey that belongs to the Callitrichidae family of arboreal mammals. Its scientific name is Leontopithecus rosalia, which refers both to its lion-like mane and its red coloring. All four tamarin species live in Brazilian rainforests.

Types Of

Also known as the golden marmoset, the golden lion tamarin shares the Leontopithecus genus with three other species:

• Golden-headed lion tamarin or Leontopithecus chrysamelus
• Black lion tamarin or Leontopithecus chrysopygus
• Superagui lion tamarin or Leontopithecus caissara

Appearance

A pint-sized tree-dwelling monkey, the golden marmoset has a luxurious, long reddish-gold coat that covers its entire body except for its face and paws. A ruff of fur frames its furless face and sweeps back over the ears like the mane of a lion, lending this New World monkey an exotic appearance. It also has a hank of red-gold whiskers on each cheek.

The tamarin’s paws resemble hands, but rather than flat fingernails, or ungulae (flat nails), like those of humans and other primates, the tamarin has claws, which are also called tegulae. These help it dig into tree bark to get the insects it eats and to cling to branches as it travels through the treetops.

The weight range for golden lion tamarins, the largest Leontopithecus species, is between 482 and 680 grams (17 and 24 ounces), so they are about the size of a gray squirrel. Tamarins measure 20 to 34 centimeters in length (8 to 13 inches). Their tails add about 32 to 40 centimeters (12 to 15 inches) to their length. Males and females are usually similar in size and weight.

Behavior

Like squirrels, the tamarin travels on all fours, scurrying between tree branches 10 to 30 meters (29 to 100 feet) above the forest floor. It digs into cracks in the tree bark for insects. It pries into small holes with its deft, hairless fingers. It then shares whatever food is available with its family group.

These arboreal creatures are social within a core group of up to eight relatives. Like other monkeys, they groom each other, and the young ones play together. The mating pair in each family group is typically monogamous for life.

Golden lion tamarin families are part of larger troops that mark their territory with scent to ward off outsiders. They also vocalize whining calls to warn of danger. When they are in an aggressive mode, they arch their backs, open their mouths, and stare. They make peeping calls when feeling friendly.

These golden tamarins also have a trilling call in their vocabulary, which they use to let others in their troop know their location. They may cluck when searching for food, and screech in delight when playing.

Groups of tamarins re-nest often as another measure to evade predators. They will nestle in the hollows of trees, bed down on a nest of vines, or another sheltered spot high in the treetops. Their typical daytime routine consists of foraging for fruit and nectar in the morning and then catching insects in the afternoon. In the late afternoon to evening, they choose a new sleeping spot.

Habitat

Golden lion tamarins live within the state of Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil. Their rainforest habitat has shrunk to less than three percent of its former size due to human encroachment and activity. All three of these locations are wildlife preserves: Poco das Antas Biological Reserve, Unaio Biological Reserve, and a privately owned reserve that works with the Reintroduction Program, all in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Different troops have adapted to survive in various types of terrain. Due to a fractured habitat, some live in lowland coastal rainforests while others prefer forested hilltops or wetlands along Brazil’s southeastern coast.

Diet

These tree-dwelling primates eat a diet of foods available in their rainforest canopy habitat. Because they are omnivores, they eat both animal and vegetable matter. For example, everything from spiders to small lizards finds its way into their diet, depending on local availability and season.

They also feast on flower nectar, tree fruits, and flower petals. Their main criterion for food selection is whether it is small enough to handle. As they eat and digest fruits and flowers, they naturally disperse the seeds throughout their habitat in their feces, helping to maintain the diversity of the environment.

They have unique adaptations that help them dig into tree bark for the insects they eat. Their slender fingers have claw-like nails rather than the flattened ones specific to other types of monkeys and to humans. These adaptations have another purpose as well. They allow golden lion tamarins to grip branches more securely while traveling through the treetops, reducing the risk of dangerous falls.

Predators And Threats

A few of the animals that share the rainforest with the tamarin prey on it too. Large birds of prey, raccoon-like coatis, snakes, margays, and small Brazilian wildcats all pose a threat of predation to the golden lion tamarin.

Human activities nearly drove tamarins to extinction in the 1960s, and they remain a significant, ongoing threat to the population. Clearcutting tamarin habitat for valuable wood products and charcoal production has reduced it by 98 percent.

Urban sprawl further destroys tamarin habitat. Ranchers who cut down forestland to create grazing fields for cattle are another threat to a number of native species, as are big agricultural conglomerates expanding their farming operations.

In the past, the illegal trade in golden lion tamarins further challenged conservation efforts for this small, attractive species. Poachers captured them to sell as pets and zoo exhibits. The strength of the current conservation movement has minimized this once-pervasive threat, however.

Reproduction, Babies, And Lifespan

Golden marmosets are typically monogamous, with a single mating pair within a family group reproducing. Mating season runs between September and March, during the warmest and wettest time of year. The gestation period is four months, so babies are born sometime between September and February.

Tamarins usually give birth to twins, although occasionally, triplets or quadruplets make an appearance. During the first month after birth, a set of baby tamarin twins depends completely on its mother. She nurses them and carries them on her back.

After those initial weeks, the entire family group — including the father — helps with childcare and feeding. A baby typically begins socializing at about 17 weeks.

The dominant female and male can begin reproducing at approximately two-and-a-half years of age. Other mature males and females do not reproduce until they have formed their own family groups.

The first year of life is the riskiest for these infants. The mortality rate for babies under a year of age is nearly 50 percent. After they have survived the critical first year of life, they are young adults.

On average, a golden lion tamarin lives about 10 to 15 years in the wild. Those in captivity tend to live the longest. One captive male lived for nearly 25 years.

Population

Although population estimates vary, there are likely about 3,000 golden lion tamarins left in the wild in Brazil, and nearly 500 living in zoos throughout the world. At its lowest point, in the mid-20th century, the population totaled a scant 200 individuals, but since then, numbers have gradually multiplied, thanks to the efforts of conservation groups.

In the Zoo

These small, active primates live in zoos throughout the world. Approximately 38 states in the U.S. host golden lion tamarins. These include Zoo Atlanta in Georgia, Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.