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Saguinus imperator

2022-12-21 11:09:38 133

Saguinus imperator Life habits and morphological characteristics

The emperor tamarin is a small primate with a body length of 23-26 cm, a tail length of 35-41.5 cm, and a weight of 350-450 grams. The fur is mainly gray with yellow spots on the chest. The hands and feet are black, and the tail is reddish brown. It is characterized by long white whiskers that are as long as the shoulders. It has a claw with abnormal toenail, only the big toe has a flat nail, and the rest of the fingers and toes are claw-like sharp claws; there is a pair of nipples on the chest; the hind limbs are longer than the forelimbs; there are 32 teeth.
The snout is short and the eye sockets are directly forward. The central incisor is chisel-shaped and usually protrudes forward; the upper molars are roughly triangular and often have pointed crowns. The body and limbs are slender and the tail is long. Except for the flat nail on the big toe, the other toes are clawed. The forelimbs are underdeveloped and cannot move with the arms.

Saguinus imperator Distribution range and habitat

Distributed in South America, including Bolivia, Brazil, Peru and other countries. Living in the dense Amazon rainforest.

Saguinus imperator Detailed Introduction

Emperor Tamarin (scientific name: Saguinus imperator) is also known as Emperor Tamarin in English. It has two subspecies.

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The emperor tamarin has sharp vision, but poor hearing and smell. It lives in the upper canopy of the rainforest almost all its life and rarely moves on the ground, because food can provide it with enough water without having to look for water sources. It lives in clusters, with about 3-15 in each group, and up to 40. It is active during the day and sleeps in tree holes at night. The oldest female leads several males, who help each other. Emperor Tamarins often stay with other marmosets (such as saddleback tamarins). They can make different sounds to identify intruders.

Emperor Tamarins are omnivorous, like other marmosets, and mainly eat fruits, insects and tree sap. They also eat bird eggs and young vertebrates. Due to their light body, they can reach the top of branches to eat food.

Emperor Tamarins can mate and reproduce all year round. The marriage is polygamous, polyandrous and monogamous. All males in the family, whether they are fathers or not, will help give birth, care for and support the baby monkeys, and bring the baby monkeys to the mother monkeys for feeding. The young monkeys are weaned after about 3 months and reach sexual maturity at the end of the second year. The gestation period of the female is about 140-145 days, with 1-3 cubs per litter, but usually 2. Newborn marmosets will climb onto their parents' backs to follow their parents' activities and forage for food. They can move freely at 6-7 weeks old, are weaned after 2-3 months, reach sexual maturity at 16-20 months old, and live 17-20 years.

Listed in the "World Conservation Union" (IUCN) ver: 2008 Red List of Primates - Low Risk (LC).


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