When working hard, you might get as red-handed as the red-handed tamarin.
- Red-handed tamarins are a species of small primate native to countries of northeast South America, including Guyana, Suriname, Brazil and French Guiana.
- ‘Red-handed tamarins’ are also known as ‘Midas tamarins’ and ‘golden-handed tamarins’.
- The scientific name of red-handed tamarins is Saguinus midas and it is from the family Callitrichidae, a family of New World monkeys.
- Red-handed tamarins grow to be 20.5 to 28 centimetres (8 to 11 inches) in height, excluding the tail, and they generally weigh between 400 to 550 grams (14 to 19.4 ounces).
- The hair colour of red-haired tamarins is black, except for the hands and feet, which are coloured yellow to red.
Red-handed Tamarin
Image courtesy of Mathius Appel/Flickr
- Red-handed tamarins live in troops of 2 to 16 individuals, typically cooperating as they forage and to raise young.
- The diet of red-handed tamarins consists primarily of insects, fruit, spiders, sap, eggs, small animals and leaves.
- Red-handed tamarins have sharp teeth and claws, and they use these when threatened or to protect their territory.
- Female red-handed tamarins usually give birth to one to three young each year, though it is typically two at a time, and their lifespan is up to 10 years or more in the wild, and up to 21 years in captivity.
- Red-handed tamarins can jump from heights of at least 20 metres (66 feet) from a tree, to a solid surface without sustaining injuries.
Bibliography:
Cloyd E, Saguinus midas, 2000, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Saguinus_midas/
Red-handed Tamarin, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-handed_tamarin
Red-handed Tamarin, 2016, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/red-handed-tamarin/
