By Emily Cloyd
Geographic Range
The red-handed tamarin lives in northern Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, and Surinam.
Biogeographic Regions:
neotropical 
(native ).
Habitat
The red-footed tamarins live in trees with small crowns (less than 15 m in diameter).
Terrestrial Biomes:
rainforest .
Physical Description
(14.08 to 19.36 oz; avg. 16.72 oz)
The head and body measure from 20.5 to 28 cm, the tail from 31.5 to 44 cm. There is no obvious sexual dimorphism. The face is black with long hairs. It does not have the whitish fur around the mouth that is characteristic of other tamarins in the long-tusked tamarin group. The body is also black, except for the hands and feet, which are orange-red or yellow. There are claws on all digits except for the big toe, which has the flattened nail characteristic of primates. Also, the thumb lacks a saddle joint and is not opposable. There are specialized scent glands in the midchest and around the genitalia, the secretions of which are used to mark territory and convey information about identity, status, and sexual receptivity of individuals.
Some key physical features:
endothermic ; bilateral symmetry .
Reproduction
The young are cared for by all adult members of a group, with males and other females assisting at birth and caring for the young when they are not being suckled. There is usually only one breeding female and two or more breeding males in a group. The suppression of reproductive activity in non-dominant females is a result of inhibitory behavior of the dominant female combined with loss of ovulatory capacity in the subordinate female.
Mating systems:
polyandrous ; cooperative breeder .
Adult tamarins reach sexual maturity at age 16-20 months. One, usually two, or rarely three young are born after a gestation lasting 140-145 days. The young weigh about 45 grams at birth. Weaning occurs at age 2-3 months. Red-footed tamarins live to the age of 10 or more years.
Key reproductive features:
iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous .
The young are cared for by all adult members of a group, with males and other females assisting at birth and caring for the young when they are not being suckled. Females nurse their young for two to three months.
Parental investment:
pre-fertilization (provisioning, protecting: female); pre-hatching/birth (provisioning: female, protecting: female); pre-weaning/fledging (provisioning: female, protecting: male, female).
Behavior
Red-footed tamarins live in groups of 2-6, consisting of mixed ages and both sexes. They are active by day and hold a territory of approximately 10 hectares. Within the group, there is little intragroup aggression (even among breeding males) and much cooperation and tolerance. They are mostly arboreal, and leap from tree to tree or tree to ground, and have been known to make leaps from as high as 20m to the ground without any sign of injury.
Key behaviors:
arboreal ; saltatorial ; diurnal ; motile ; territorial ; social ; dominance hierarchies .
Food Habits
Like most tamarins, the red-footed tamarin eats mainly insects, ripe fruit, and plant exudates such as sap, gum, and resin. It also includes nectar, tender vegetation, spiders, small vertebrates, and birds' eggs in its diet. Prey is killed with a bite to the head.
Primary Diet:
omnivore .
Animal Foods:
eggs; insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods.
Plant Foods:
leaves; fruit; nectar; sap or other plant fluids.
Conservation Status
The destruction of tropical rainforest threatens the habitat of the red-footed tamarin, ultimately threatening the livelihood of the species.
Other Comments
The main enemies of the red-footed tamarin are small cats, birds of prey, and snakes.
Contributors
Emily Cloyd (author), University of Michigan.
Phil Myers (editor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan.
