The Tamarin
Appearance
The tamarin is a unique monkey. It’s the size of a squirrel. It’s a warm blooded mammal. Their body is eight to fourteen inches (20-35 cm) long. Their tail is up to almost sixteen inches (40 cm) long. Tamarins use their long tails to balance on the branches of the rainforest trees. They weigh about two pounds. Most of them have dull colored brown fur. The brown fur camouflages the tamarin in rain forest trees. They have hair all over their body except the face. Some have different colored fur like orange, red, and gold. The scientific name for this monkey is callitrichidae.
Habitat
Tamarins live in tropical rain forest. Most live in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil of South America. To survive they need lots of plants and water to eat and drink in their habitat. One monkey, the rufous naped tamarin, makes Its home in Panama, part of Central America.They’re arboreal which means it lives in the trees. At night they sleep in holes or in large plants called bromeliads with groups so they're more protected. Since it sleeps at night it is a diurnal species meaning it’s out during the day.
Prey
The diet of the tamain is small. In the wild they find rain forest fruits like bananas and oranges. With their pointed claws they dig under the tree bark to find insects, spiders, ticks, small insect eggs. Sometimes they eat small bird eggs as well. They spend most of their day finding food. They find food mostly under small plants that grow on the rain forest trees.
Enemies
Bibliography
Braun, Eric, and Sandra Donovan. Tamarins. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2002. Print.
"Golden Lion Tamarins, Golden Lion Tamarin Pictures, Golden Lion Tamarin Facts - National Geographic." National Geographic. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Tamarin and Marmoset. Rain Forests of the World. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2002. Print.
"Tamarin Monkeys - Facts, Information & Habitat." Animal Corner. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
"Var Addthis_pub="blankparkzoo"; Golden-headed Tamarin." Golden-headed Tamarin. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.