Black-Mantled Tamarin, Leontocebus nigricollis
BLACK-MANTLED TAMARIN
Leontocebus nigricollis
Geographic Distribution and Habitat
The black-mantled tamarin, also known as the Hernández-Camacho’s black-mantle tamarin, ranges in distribution from the northwestern Amazon rainforest in far western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, northeastern Peru, and eastern Ecuador. Within this vast range, the species inhabits Amazonian lowland and seasonally flooded forests, Colombian dry forests, and Ecuadorian tropical and subtropical humid forests between 657 and 4,266 feet (200 and 1,300 m) above sea level. In all of these countries, they inhabit remnant forests (those containing native plants and animals that have not been significantly disturbed by destructive activities), secondary forests (those that have naturally regrown after a period of human-caused disturbance), and edge habitats between terra firma and seasonally flooded forests.
There are three subspecies of the black-mantled tamarin: the Spix’s black-mantle tamarin (L. n. nigricollis) the Graells’s tamarin or Graells’ black-mantle tamarin (L. n. graellsi), and the Hernández-Camacho’s black-mantle tamarin (L. n. hernandezi). Of the three, the Graells’s tamarin was previously considered to be a separate species.
In addition, the black-mantled tamarin was, along with all other saddle-back tamarins, once grouped into the genus Sanguinus. A taxonomic and genetic review conducted in 2016 found that the saddle-back tamarins could be classified within its own genus (Leontocebus). The separation of genera is still debated among some authors, however.
Size, Weight, and Lifespan
The black-mantled tamarin has a head-body length of 8.3-9.8 inches (21-25 cm), with a tail measuring almost twice the length of the body at 12.2-13.8 inches (31-35 cm). They weigh approximately 10.6-14.1 ounces (300-400 g) and have a lifespan in the wild of up to 10 years.
Appearance
The black-mantled tamarin is covered in a sleek, soft black fur coat extending from the head to the middle of the back before fading to a reddish-brown hue. Their feet, hands, ears, and tail are all black. Around the face is where things get interesting (and beautiful!). Near the black face, a distinct mantle (or collar) of long, black-brown hair covers the neck and shoulders, contrasting with the short white-gray hairs around the tamarin’s mouth and nose. Big brown expressive eyes are also encircled by white fur, and their black tails are non-prehensile, that is, not used for grabbing or grasping, but rather used to aid in balancing among the tree branches. Finally, their slender yet strong limbs have sharp claws to aid in gripping tree branches as they move throughout the forested habitat.
Diet
The black-mantled tamarin is an omnivore, consuming both plant and animal material. Up to 80% of their diet consists of fruit. They also eat seed pods, flowers including nectar, plant exudates (gum, sap, and latex), and various small prey species, such as frogs, lizards, insects, spiders, and snails.
The dentation (teeth) of tamarins, unlike those of marmosets, which also feed on plant exudates, does not provide for gouging trees to stimulate the release of gums. Instead, they eat gums only when readily available.
Behavior and Lifestyle
Living in the rainforest, the black-mantled tamarin is arboreal (adapted to living in the trees), spending most of the time in the upper canopy. Using their long limbs, tail, and sharp claws to swiftly move through the trees, they are very agile and acrobatic. Their small size and lightweight body allow them to leap from branch to branch with the greatest of ease.
The black-mantled tamarin is diurnal (most active during the day). Specifically, they are most active in the morning, starting a few minutes to an hour after sunrise, and late afternoon, when the temperature is cooler. During these times, they forage for food, socialize with group members, and engage in grooming behaviors to maintain social bonds. With regard to the exact metrics of their daily activity budget, the following have been recorded:
- Foraging makes up 62% of their time during the dry season, compared to 44.6% during the wet season
- Feeding makes up 6.2-17% of their time
- Resting makes up 21% of their time during the dry season, compared to 29.8% during the wet season
- Traveling through their habitat makes up 17% of their time during the dry season, compared to 25.6% during the wet season
With regard to sleep, black-mantled tamarins seek shelter in tree cavities or dense foliage during the night. They have been known to sleep in close proximity to one another, often curled up in a ball-like position. This provides them with protection from potential predators, as well as warmth. However, unlike humans, their sleep patterns are not as consolidated, and they may have multiple short bouts of sleep throughout the night.
Predators of the black-mantled tamarin include wildcats and birds of prey. They avoid these predators by emitting an alarm call, followed by beating a hasty retreat.
Piggyback, Mom style: Unlike other tamarin species, the mother is reported to be the primary carrier of the infants during the first two weeks of life.
Black-mantled tamarins live in small multi-male and multi-female groups ranging between four and 15 individuals. These groups are typically made up of an adult pair and their offspring, but can also have two adults of each gender. Members of both sexes tend to leave their birth groups once mature to form groups of their own. The home range of a black-mantled tamarin group has been recorded as ranging between 74.1-124 acres (30-50 ha), with over 80% of one group’s territory overlapping with that of another group.
Black-mantled tamarins have been documented non-aggressively associating with other groups of their own kind, as well as with other species of saddle-back tamarins. What’s more, they have been documented forming temporary mergers of up to an hour of two to five neighboring groups totaling up to 30-40 tamarins. These mergers are likely to serve as protection against predators. Talk about having good relations with your neighbors!
The primary method of communication among the black-mantled tamarin is a unique repertoire of vocalizations, which include bird-like whistles and frog-like croaks. They recognize the alarm calls of other saddle-back tamarin species as a means of reacting to and avoiding predators.
Besides vocalizations, grooming is a common means of maintaining social bonds within the group, and anogenital (i.e., rear-end) scent marking has been observed. Sometimes, this scent marking is done in succession by several individuals, with each subsequent individual smelling the place rubbed by the previous individual.
The black-mantled tamarin reproduces year-round, with no set breeding season. Like other species of saddle-back tamarins, their sexual patterns can be a bit flexible. If there is a single breeding female, or at least a more dominant female among the others within the group, she is often monogamous (breeding with one adult male), but if multiple adult males are present, she may reproduce with any one of them (with no aggression between the males, to boot! How… understanding and cooperative.) The latter form of reproduction is known as polyandry. Gestation (pregnancy) lasts for around 140-145 days, after which the female gives birth to twins, though triplets and occasional single births have been observed. The birth interval (time between births) is around five months.
At around two to three months of age, young will begin to venture away from their mother’s back and start exploring their environment on their own. However, they still maintain close proximity to their mother and rely on her for protection and guidance.
The babies are incredibly small at birth, weighing only around 1.4 ounces (40 g). They are completely dependent on Mom for survival, and spend the majority of their time clinging to her back. At around six to eight months of age, the young begin to consume solid food, gradually weaning off of their mother’s milk. As they grow older, the young continue to learn essential skills from their parents as well as from other group members. They observe and imitate adult behaviors, such as foraging techniques and social interactions, which are crucial for their survival in the wild. They reach sexual maturity (and thus, adulthood) at around two to three years of age, upon which they leave to form a group of their own.
As some of their diet consists of fruit, the black-mantled tamarin aids in the regeneration of their forest habitat by dispersing seeds through their feces as they move around their habitat. As a prey species, they also play a role in feeding local predators within the habitat. They additionally play a role in pollination. Like bees and butterflies, they collect pollen from flowers while drinking nectar. They then deposit the pollen on each flower they visit, thereby pollinating the plants. Finally, they may also be considered pest controllers through their consumption of insects.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the black-mantled tamarin as Least Concern (IUCN, 2015), appearing on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The primary threat facing the black-mantled tamarin is deforestation of their habitat for human settlements and commercial developments, livestock and crop farming, and harvesting of wood for various purposes. Luckily, they are not in immediate threat of endangerment due to their ability to adapt to a disturbed habitat, as well as the fact that their habitats are often within protected areas. In addition, their large populations assist in their ability to survive. As a result, it is generally believed that they are not suffering from any significant population decline.
The black-mantled tamarin is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an international agreement between governments whose goal is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
The black-mantled tamarin is found in numerous protected areas throughout their range, including (but not limited to) Ecuador’s Reserva Faunistica Cuyabeno, Ysasuni National Park, and Sangay National Park; Brazil’s Juami-Japurá Ecological Station; Colombia’s La Paya Natural National Park and Amacayacu National Park.
Conservation actions needed to ensure their ongoing survival are (continued) land/water management, and site/area management. So far, things are looking rather safe for this energetic, enigmatic species of South America. Fingers crossed!
- https://www.alltheworldsprimates.org/Members/Home/MasterPrimate.aspx?tid=1364
- https://animalia.bio/black-mantled-tamarin
- https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/monkeys/black-mantled-tamarin/
- https://data.jncc.gov.uk/data/64ff74a0-4a87-4134-87b6-023f30cf51ea/JNCC-Report-380-FINAL-WEB.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-mantled_tamarin
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle-back_tamarin
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarin
- https://www.gbif.org/species/2436477
- https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/39945/17932254
- https://primate.socgen.ucla.edu/index.php/multivitaminic/article/view/84
- https://synapsida.blogspot.com/2014/06/mini-monkeys-chilling-out-with-mantled.html
- https://www.worldspecies.org/ntaxa/915045
Written by Sienna Weinstein, July 2024