Emperor Tamarin
There are two subspecies of the Emperor Tamarin:
Black-Chinned Emperor Tamarin
There are claws on each of the animal's toes and fingers, aside from its big toe which has a nail. While it has a definitive long moustache, it also has almost inconspicuous white hairs on its chin. Visually, they have a black chin. The hair on its chest and belly are a mixture of red, orange, and white hairs. On its back, the fur is dark brown. The inner side of its arms and legs are an orange-like colour.
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Bearded emperor tamarin
The bearded emperor tamarin typically has the same biological structure as the black-chinned emperor tamarin However, its main differences lie in the variation of colour on its chest, belly, and arms. Also, in addition to its long white mustache, this subspecies has a large white-haired beard, unlike S. imperator imperator, which merely has faint black whiskers upon its chin.
Aside from the color changes and visually striking beard, the two tamarins essentially have the same body structure. They are very small, compared to most other primates. Using their claws, they cling to tree branches, maintaining a consistent verticality in the jungle environment. To navigate their lush environment, which typically is in rainforests, they leap and move quickly through trees, rarely touching the forest floor.
Habitat
They occur mostly in Amazonian lowland and lower montane rain forests, as well as remnant, primary, and secondary forests. Amazonian lowland holds an abundance of water during high sea level due to the flooding by nearby water sources. This contributes to a very humid, tropical climate to occur year-round. The lower montane forests Emperor tamarins are primarily found in are considered tropical and moist with an abundance of vegetation. During the dry season, flowering peaks and in the wet season, flowering decreases, affecting the diets of the Emperor tamarins.
Many Emperor tamarins are found in Amazonian secondary forests, which account for 40% of the forest area. Secondary forests appear to accumulate woody plant species at a relatively rapid rate but the mechanisms involved are complex and no clear pattern emerged. This process helped grow the trees in which Emperor tamarins primarily reside in when found in secondary forests. The average size of the group tamarins live in is two to eight individuals, but it can range from four to eighteen. They reside in the form of an extended family group, usually with only one breeding female. The groups they live in usually only consist of Emperor tamarins, but occasionally can also include Saddle-back tamarins considering their food scavenging groups often join together. This is due to the fact Emperor tamarins stick to staying higher in the canopy above 10 meters, and Saddle-back tamarins usually stay below 10 meters.
Diet
Emperor tamarins consume a wide range of specimens in their daily dietary routine. They eat fruits and flowers, many of which are readily available due to their flourishing vegetational habitats. They also eat the exudes of plants such as gums and saps, easily gouged from the trees they are living in. Many also choose to consume animal prey, such as insects and frogs, depending upon what type of forest they are located in. Emperor tamarin society is based on a dominance hierarchy led by a dominant female and her mate. It is the dominant emperor tamarins who form these foraging troops, forming these mixed-species groups is beneficial to the emperor tamarins and their ability to find quality food resources. Some speculated at one point that females of the species were the primary scavengers of food, specifically fruit and flowers, because of their enhanced abilities over the males in the form of stronger visual cues. Upon research, it was found that males and females possess the same abilities to locate food patches. Though it does not discriminate between the two species, females do tend to be the more dominant hunters, which led to the speculation. This foraging strategy is beneficial to both species, the mixed-species troops provide more vigilance for predator protection.
Breeding
The age of first reproduction in emperor tamarins is around 16–20 months old, with a gestation period of up to 6 months. Tamarins are seasonal breeders. Breeding is based around food availability. Most births occur during the wet season when food resources are in abundance. Tamarin species were once thought to be a monogamous species, but observations of emperor tamarins in the wild show that they have a polyandrous mating system, with one dominant female mating with multiple males. This mating system works to ensure paternal investment in offspring. If a female mates with multiple males and give birth to a litter, males are more likely to invest because of the possibility that one of the infants will carry their genes onto the next generation. Due to high rates of twinning or multiple births in Emperor tamarins, parental care and paternal investment is important to infant survival. Previously the only knowledge of tamarin infant care came from captive studies on Cotton-top tamarins, which demonstrated that infant survival is dependent on helpers. Helpers are either older female offspring of the dominant female that have remained in their natal group or the males that most frequently interact with the dominant female. Infant carrying has a high energetic cost due to the relatively large fetal weight of infants to the weight of adults. Helpers provide extra support to remove some of the cost of caring for multiple infants. Male emperor tamarins have been observed to spend the most time with infants, often carrying both infants while the dominant female forages. Male emperor tamarins are reported to be more observant of the infants and more protective. For example, they are known to react faster to infant distress calls than females. Infant mortality in the wild is at its highest during weeks 5–15 of their lives, when they begin to move around and explore on their own, this is because one of the greatest threats to infant survival is falling from the canopy.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Least Concern(LC) and their population trend is decreasing. There is no known amount of mature individuals.
Threats
Much of the range of Emperor Tamarin, previously remote, is increasingly subject to progressive deforestation largely as a result of colonisation along highways, associated with logging and cattle ranching. The species is probably not hunted, but they may be subject to some trade as pets.
Conservation
Emperor Tamarin is included on the national official lists of threatened species of both Brazil and Peru. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES. It probably also occurs in a number of protected areas, including the Chico Mendes Extractivist Reserve, the Macauá National Forest, and the Macauá and Antimari State Forests to the north, all lying between the Rios Acre and Purus, although none of them are specifically for the preservation of wildlife. There are no protected areas within its range in Brazil, but in Bolivia, it occurs in the Manuripí Heath Nature Reserve in the Pando region.