About Cotton Top Tamarin

The Cotton Top Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) also known as the Cotton Headed Tamarin and Crested Tamarin is a small New World monkey weighing less than 0.5 kg. It is one of the smallest primates found in tropical forest edges and secondary forests. It is a highly social primate that lives in groups of 2 to 9 individuals. The Cotton Top Tamarin is named for the shock of white hair encircling its head. These diminutive primates forage through the middle layer of the canopy for fruits and insects that make up much of their diet, but they eat larger vertebrates as well. These tamarins play an important role in spreading seeds in tropical ecosystems.