Golden-mantled Tamarin - Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Classification

There are seventeen species in this genus, but there seems to be some debate over the placing of S. tripartitus. In field observations in South America, scientists compared feeding habits and heights between golden-mantled tamarins (S. tripartitus) and brown-mantled tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis) and they concluded that patterns of height were very similar to those observed in S. fuscicollis. The similarity and the lack of evidence for sympatry with either S. fuscicollis or the black-mantled tamarin (Saguinus nigricollis) lead to the suggestion that S. tripartitus should be reconsidered as a subspecies of S. fuscicollis rather than a species on its own; alternatively, other subspecies of S. fuscicollis should be raised in taxonomic rank.