📸 PhotoPhoto: Ltshears - Trisha M Shears · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Cotton-top Tamarin
Saguinus oedipus (Cotton-top Tamarin · ワタボウシタマリン)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 The Smithsonian's National Zoo compares this monkey's weight to about that of a can of soup.
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 380 g is about the weight of six chicken eggs (around 60 g each) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Cotton-top Tamarin is a small monkey found only in the forests of northwestern Colombia, distinguished by a crest of white hair flowing from forehead to nape.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Long white hair runs from the forehead to the nape, while the shoulders and back are grayish brown, the thighs reddish brown, and the belly white. Its fingers and toes have claw-like nails instead of flat nails, and its tail is longer than its body but not prehensile.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Insects make up about 40% of its diet, fruit 38.4%, and plant gums 14.4%. Groups of about 3–9 individuals—consisting of a dominant pair, their young, and helpers—live together and cooperatively raise the offspring.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List CR (2021) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19823/192551067
- • IUCN Red List category CR — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1000824
- • iucnredlist.org — 192551067
- • wikidata.org — Q137528
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:CottonTop.jpg
- • nationalzoo.si.edu — cotton-top-tamarin
- • animaldiversity.org — Saguinus oedipus
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Andy Wilson · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Saguinus bicolor ochraceus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.