Saguinus geoffroyi
Creators: name: Russell A. Mittermeier
name: Anthony B. Rylands
name: Don E. Wilson
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Callitrichidae
Saguinus
Saguinus geoffroyi

description: 43.
Geoffroy’s Tamarin
Saguinus geoffroyi
French: Tamarin de Geoffroy / German: Perlickentamarin / Spanish: Tamarin de Panama Other common names: Red-crested Bare-face Tamarin, Rufous-naped Tamarin
Taxonomy. Hapale geoffroyi Pucheran, 1845,
Panama. Restricted by P. Hershkovitz in 1949 to the Canal Zone.
Formerly considered a subspecies of S. oedipus. Pelage of S. geoffroyi tends to be paler in the northern part of its distribution. Tamarins from the Choco, Rio Salaqui (a tributary of the Rio Atrato), have larger, differently proportioned skulls, a chestnut rather than burnt umber crown and nape, and buffy yellow (instead of pure white) underparts, and were named Oedipomidas salaquiensis by D. G. Elliot in 1912—currently considered ajunior synonym. Monotypic.
Distribution. C & E Panama (E of the Azuero Peninsula) and NW Colombia, in Panama to a little W of the Canal Zone and in Colombia along the Pacific coast, S as far as the Rio San Juan.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 20-29 cm, tail 32-42 cm; weight mean 486-4 g (males, n =53) and 507-5 g (females, n = 41). Geoffroy’s Tamarin is similar in appearance to the Cotton-top Tamarin (S. oedipus). Its forearms are white, the underside is pale yellow, and the nape is dark reddish. Lower back, upper arms, and legs are dappled with black and yellow. The proximal one-third of the tail is reddish, and the remainder is black. Instead of the distinctive head plume of the Cotton-top Tamarin, Geoffroy’s Tamarins have a short, wedge-shaped, white mid-frontal crest. The face is black and bare, with very sparse white hairs on the cheeks and brows. Sexes are very similar in appearance, but females have larger and more developed circumgenital and suprapubic glands.
Habitat. Primary and secondary rainforest and dry deciduous forest. Geoffroy’s Tamarins prefer secondary growth (early seral stages of regrowth), with large trees and a dense understory. They forage for animal prey in dense vegetation at heights of 2-15 m above the ground. The first study of Geoffroy’s Tamarins was done by G. Dawson in the early 1970s in a dry forest at the former Rodman Depot, west of the Panama Canal on the Pacific slope of Panama. P. Garber subsequently studied the same population in the late 1970s. N. Lindsay carried out a short study ofits behavior and ecology in second-growth forest in the San Blas region of the Caribbean coast of Panama in 1979. C. Skinner carried out surveys in 30 locations within its Panamian distribution in 1983 and noted that most sightings were associated with secondary growth and often near agricultural areas. They were observed from sea level to 350 m in forests of both the humid Caribbean coast and the drier Pacific coast.
Food and Feeding. Fruits eaten by Geoffroy’s Tamarins are generally small and succuclent, including those of Cecropia (infructescences) and Pourouma (Urticaceae), Ficus (Moraceae), Annona (Annonaceae), Inga (Fabaceae), Miconia (Melastomataceae), and Spondias, Mangifera, and Anacardium (Anacardiaceae). They eat flowers (nectar) of Byrsonima crassifolia (Malpighiaceae), Cassia moschata (Fabaceae), and Luehea seemannii (Malvaceae) and leaf buds of Cedrela (Meliaceae). During the wet season, gums of Anacardium excelsum and Spondias mombin (Anacardiaceae) are also a major part of the diet and can make up 14% of their feeding time (insects 39% and fruits 38%). Gums are believed to be important for their calcium content, a mineral largely lacking in insects and fruit. Their animal prey is largely arthropods (mainly Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Coleoptera) and small vertebrates (mainly lizards). They also eat bird eggs. Their foraging techniques are based on stealth and pounce while moving on thin supports of 5-10 cm in circumference; feeding drops significantly on larger branches, which they tend to use for travel and resting.
Breeding. Pregnant female Geoffroy’s Tamarins and newborns can be seen throughout the year, but most births occur in March—June, with the peak in April-May (early wet season when fruiting peaks). Many females are pregnant in May-June, but there is no corresponding birth peak in August-September, indicating that fetuses are resorbed or aborted.
Activity patterns. Geoffroy’s Tamarins begin their day shortly after sunrise, and they can be active for as little as seven hours, curtailed by rain, or as long as nearly 14 hours. Average duration of activity is about eleven hours, longer than in many other callitrichids, and is probably associated with a relative scarcity of insect prey and fruit in the dry forests where they occur. Studies at the Rodman site found that Geoffroy’s Tamarins traveled and foraged mostly in early morning, with a lull in activities at midday. Sleeping sites were generally in tall, broad-crowned trees at heights of ¢.16 m or in dense vine tangles lower in the forest at c.7 m above the ground.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mean size of 71 groups of Geoffroy’s Tamarins at the Rodman site was 6-9 individuals (range 4-9) including infants. Five groups closely monitored had an average of 2-4 adult males, 2-1 adult females, one immature male, and 0-7 immature females (mean size 6-2). Lowland groups of Geoffroy’s Tamarins were quite stable, but upland groups, in considerably drier and more deciduous forest, were less stable, with higher emigration, immigration, and the disappearance of mainly immature individuals. Home range of a lowland group was 26 ha, 13% of which overlapped with three other groups. An upland group in the drier forest had a larger range of more than 32 ha, at least 83% of which overlapped with five other groups. The lowland group defended its home range, but the upland group did not. Reasons for this are believed to lie in the reduced insect biomass and more seasonal, unstable, and unpredictable nature of food sources in the drier forest, making it difficult to establish a fixed home range and causing lower infant survival. Adult Geoffroy’s Tamarins lose weight in the dry season. Daily movements average 2000 m, and daily home ranges were ¢.9 ha. Within their home range, individuals preferred low brush and denser vegetation of the forest edge and tended to avoid the more xeric and open-canopied mesic forest. Densities from various localities in Panama in 1983 ranged from 0-4 groups/km? (Chagres River Watershed) to 5-3 groups/km?* (Pacific coast, west of the Panama Canal). The Tayra (Eira barbara) has been observed preying on Geoffroy’s Tamarins.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Geoffroy’s Tamarin has a relatively restricted distribution and is threatened in many areas by widespread deforestation over the past 50 years.It is, however, generally adaptable and able to coexist quite closely with humans. Geoffroy’s Tamarins are even found in a park in Panama City. In Panama,it is frequently hunted and captured for the pet trade, and trapping has been reported west of the Rio Atrato in Colombia. It occurs in numerous protected areas in Panama and in Los Katios National Natural Park in Colombia.
Bibliography. Barbosa et al. (1988), Dawson (1976, 1977, 1979), Dawson & Dukelow (1976), Elliott (1912), Garber (1980, 19844, 1984b, 1993a, 1993b), Garber & Kitron (1997), Garber & Sussman (1984), Hershkovitz (1949, 1977), Lindsay (1980), Moore & Cheverud (1992), Moynihan (1970), Nelson (1975), Rasmussen (1998), Rasmussen & Broekema (2003), Rylands (1993b), Rylands et al. (2006), Skinner (1984, 1985, 1991), Snowdon & Soini (1988).
description: Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Callitrichiade, pp. 262-346 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 340-341, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5730714