ADW: Saguinus mystax: Information

2008/08/03 04:42:22.352 GMT-4

By Brian Long

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Suborder: Haplorrhini

Family: Cebidae

Subfamily: Callitrichinae

Genus: Saguinus

Species: Saguinus mystax

Geographic Range

The moustached tamarin occupies tropical rainforest and secondary rainforset in multiple amazon regions in Brazil, as well as areas in Bolivia and Peru (Macdonald 1984).

Biogeographic Regions:
neotropical (native ).

Habitat

Saguinus mystax is an arboreal species which occupies primary forest, secondary forest, and edge habitat (Rylands 1996).

Terrestrial Biomes:
rainforest .

Physical Description

Mass
300 to 500 g; avg. 400 g
(10.56 to 17.6 oz; avg. 14.08 oz)

Saguinus mystax has a head and body length of 25-35 cm, and a tail length of 30-40 cm (Rylands 1996). This species is readily identifiable by the jet black pelage on all of its body and tail, and its conspicuous white moustache on the upper lip. The tail is not prehensile. S. mystax has the dental formula common to callitrichid primates 2/2 1/1 3/3 2/2 =32. All of the digits posses a claw except the hallux, which has a flat nail (Lawlor 1979).

Some key physical features:
endothermic ; bilateral symmetry .

Reproduction

Number of offspring
2 (average)

Gestation period
145 days (average)
[External Source: AnAge]

Birth Mass
46.90 g (average)
(1.65 oz)
[External Source: AnAge]

Age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
540 days (average)
[External Source: AnAge]

Age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
540 days (average)
[External Source: AnAge]

Groups are characterized by either a polyandrous or polygynous mating system (Garber et. al 1993).

Mating systems:
polyandrous ; polygynous ; cooperative breeder .

The reproduction of Saguinus mystax is perhaps its most interesting feature. Females give birth to twins that may weigh up to 25% of the mother's body weight. Due to these unusually high costs of reproduction for females, other members of the group help to carry the infants (Heymann 1990).

Parental investment:
pre-fertilization (provisioning, protecting: female); pre-hatching/birth (provisioning: female, protecting: female); pre-weaning/fledging (provisioning: female, protecting: male, female).

Behavior

Allogrooming is the most observable social behavior in Saguinus mystax. Most of this grooming behavior is carried out by the adult males of the group (Heymann 1990,1996). Antagonistic behaviors are relatively rare and usually stem from competition over food resources (Heymann 1996). Also, all group members contribute to infant carrying in a group, presumably due to the high cost of reproduction for the mother (Heymann 1990).

Key behaviors:
motile ; social .

Food Habits

Saguinus mystax is omnivorous. This species eats fruits, insects and other small animals. In general, tamarins do not feed on gums (Rylands 1996).

Primary Diet:
omnivore .

Animal Foods:
insects.

Plant Foods:
fruit.

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

No negative affects to humans known at this time.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List: [link]:
Least Concern.

CITES: [link]:
Appendix II.

This species is listed in the CITES index primarily because of habitat destruction by humans (Wilson, Reeder 1993).

Contributors

Brian Long (author), University of Michigan.
Phil Myers (editor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan.

References

Garber, P., F. Encarnacion, L. Moya, J. Pruetz. 1993. Demographic and Reproductive Patterns in Moustached Tamarin Monkeys (Saguinus mystax): Implications for Reconstructing Platyrrhine Mating Systems. American Journal of Primatology, 29: 235-254.

Heymann W., E. 1996. Social Behavior of wild Moustached Tamarins, Saguinus mystax, at the Estacion Biologica Quebrada Blanco, Peruvian Amazonia. American Journal of Primatology, 38: 101-113.

Heymann W., E. April 1990. Social Behavior and Infant Carrying in a Group of Moustached Tamarins, Saguinus mystax (Primates: Platyrrhini: Callitrichidae) on Padre Isla, Peruvian Amazonia. Primates, 31(2): 183-196.

Lawlor, T. 1979. Handbook to the Orders and Families of Living Mammals. Mad River Press.

Macdonald, D. 1984. Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File.

Rylands, A. 1996. Habitat and the Evolution of Social and Reproductive Behavior in Callitrichidae. American Journal of Primatology, 38: 5-18.

Wilson, D., D. Reeder. 1993. Mammal Species of the World. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institute Press.

2008/08/03 04:42:24.640 GMT-4

To cite this page: Long, B. 2000. "Saguinus mystax" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed August 28, 2008 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Saguinus_mystax.html.

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DUE-0633095 and DRL-0628151.
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Saguinus mystaxblack-chested mustached tamarin