Animal Info - White-footed Tamarin

(Other Names: Mico Tistis, Silvery-brown Bare-face Tamarin, Tamarin à Pieds Blancs, Tamarín de Manos Blancas, Titi, Titi Gris, Weißfußaffe)

Saguinus leucopus

Status: Vulnerable

1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, Population Estimates, History of Distribution, Threats and Reasons for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Size, Habitat, Birth Season, Diet, Behavior, Social Organization, Density and Range)
5. References

Profile

Picture: White-footed Tamarin (113 Kb GIF) (Prim. Info Net)

The white-footed tamarin weighs about 0.5 kg (1 lb) and has a body length of about 24 cm (9.4"). Its back is a pale silvery brown with lighter streaks throughout. The front of the body is rust-colored while the tail is brown, usually with a white tip. Its face is almost without hair, being thinly furred with fine white hairs. Between the ears and along the neck is a thick ruff of brown hair, while the hands and the feet are white. The white-footed tamarin uses all heights of the forest and favors edge habitats such as areas adjacent to streams. It thrives in second-growth vegetation. It is found in disturbed lowland and lower montane rainforest and is common in forests on very steep slopes.

The white-footed tamarin eats mainly soft fruits and insects. It is arboreal and diurnal. The white-footed tamarin is quadrupedal, using many leaps. It often proceeds in a quadrupedal-suspensory mode, clinging to a branch with all four limbs while proceeding as it hangs below the branch. Groups of white-footed tamarins are usually made up of 3 - 9 individuals, although temporary associations of 14 or more individuals have been observed.

The white-footed tamarin has only been known from a small area of northern Colombia. It occurs in an area of intensive colonization and forest loss. The general limits of the white-footed tamarin are: the eastern banks of the lower Cauca River, the west bank of the middle Magdalena River (including all of the largest islands in the river) and the foot of the Cordillera Central up to about 1500 m (4900') altitude. Loss and deterioration of forest habitat is the main reason for its decline. There is also some impact from the use of the species as pets.

Tidbits

*** The area of distribution of the white-footed tamarin is the smallest of all of the species in its genus (Defler 2004).

*** The white-footed tamarin is apparently able to survive in disturbed areas and secondary forest.

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

1970's: Indeterminate
1980's: Vulnerable
1990 - 1994: Endangered
1996 - 2002: Vulnerable (Criteria: A1c, B1+2c, C2a)
2003 - 2004: Vulnerable (Criteria: A2c) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the White-footed Tamarin Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in Colombia (IUCN 2004).

Population Estimates:

[Note: Figures given are for wild populations only.]

WORLD (Colombia)
- 1999: Fewer than 10,000 (Nowak 1999)

History of Distribution:

Distribution Map #1 (18 Kb) (InfoNatura)
Distribution Map #2 (255 Kb JPEG) (Inst. Ciên. Biol.)

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

Loss and deterioration of forest habitat is the main reason for its decline. There is also some impact from the use of the species as pets. (IUCN 2004)

Data on Biology and Ecology

Size:

The white-footed tamarin weighs about 0.5 kg (1 lb) and has a body length of about 24 cm (9.4"). The average length of the tail is about 38 cm (15"). (Defler 2004)

Habitat:

The white-footed tamarin uses all heights of the forest and favors edge habitats such as areas adjacent to streams. It thrives in second-growth vegetation, where it is the only remaining primate in much of its geographic range. It is found in disturbed lowland and lower montane rainforest. It is common in forests on very steep slopes. (Emmons & Feer 1997, Defler 2004)

The white-footed tamarin is one of the species that live in the Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl.).

Birth Season:

Young animals were reported during May - June, and again (second birth season) in October - November (Defler 2004).

Diet:

The white-footed tamarin, like other species in its genus, eats mainly soft fruits (particularly undergrowth berries) and insects. One study estimated that more than 70 % of its diet consisted of ripe fruit from 12 species of plants. (Emmons & Feer 1997, Defler 2004)

Behavior:

The white-footed tamarin is arboreal and diurnal.

Day ranges of about 1850 m (6100') have been calculated. An activity budget of 38% foraging and feeding, 9% resting, 34% travel, 8% observation, 10% social activities, and 1% non-social activities has been estimated. The white-footed tamarin is quadrupedal, using many leaps. It often proceeds in a quadrupedal-suspensory mode, clinging to a branch with all four limbs while proceeding as it hangs below the branch. (Defler 2004)

Social Organization:

Groups are usually made up of 3 - 9 individuals (avg 4.6, n = 42 groups), although occasionally solitary animals or pairs or temporary associations of 14 or more individuals have been observed. Larger groups have been observed to have a predictable territory, while smaller groups are highly unpredictable in that regard. (Defler 2004)

Density and Range:

Density

A density of 1 - 4 individuals/sq km (2.4 - 10 individuals/sq mi) has been reported for northern Bolivar. A very high density of 82 individuals/sq km (210 individuals/sq mi) has been found in a small forest area along the Miel River in Antioquia, probably due to the active habitat destruction of the many colonists in the region and the resulting shrinkage of viable habitat for the tamarins. (Defler 2004)

Range

One home range of 18 hectares (45 acres) during 6 months of observation has been calculated for a location near Mariquita. (Defler 2004)

References

Burton & Pearson 1987, Cons. Intl., Defler 2004, Emmons & Feer 1997, InfoNatura, Inst. Ciên. Biol., IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Macdonald 1984, Nowak 1999, Nowak & Paradiso 1983, Prim. Info Net

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Last modified: September 10, 2006;