The saddle-back tamarins are

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

-sized

New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea ( ...

s from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Callitrichidae The Callitrichidae (also called Arctopitheci or Hapalidae) are a family of New World monkeys, including marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins. At times, this group of animals has been regarded as a subfamily, called the Callitrichinae, of the fa ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Leontocebus''. They were split from the

tamarin The tamarins are squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Callitrichidae in the genus ''Saguinus''. They are the first offshoot in the Callitrichidae tree, and therefore are the sister group of a clade formed by the lion tamarins, Goel ...

genus ''

Saguinus The tamarins are squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Callitrichidae in the genus ''Saguinus''. They are the first offshoot in the Callitrichidae tree, and therefore are the sister group of a clade formed by the lion tamarins, Goeld ...

'' based on genetic data and on the fact that saddle-back tamarins are sympatric with members of ''Saguinus'' to a greater extent than would be expected from two members of the same genus. However, this argument can be circular, as several other mammals show sympatry among congeneric species, such as armadillos (genus ''Dasypus''), spotted cats (genus ''Leopardus''), and fruit-eating bats (genus ''Artibeus''). Some authors still consider ''Leontocebus'' to be a

of ''Saguinus''. Species include: *

Cruz Lima's saddle-back tamarin Cruz Lima's saddle-back tamarin (''Leontocebus cruzlimai'') is a species of saddle-back tamarin, a type of small monkey from South America. Cruz Lima's saddle-back tamarin was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the brown-mantled tamarin ...

, ('' Leontocebus cruzlimai'') * Brown-mantled tamarin or Spix's saddle-back tamarin, ('' Leontocebus fuscicollis'') *

Lesson's saddle-back tamarin Lesson's saddle-back tamarin (''Leontocebus fuscus'') is a species of saddle-back tamarin, a type of small monkey from South America. Lesson's saddle-back tamarin was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the brown-mantled tamarin, ''L. fus ...

, ('' Leontocebus fuscus'') * Illiger's saddle-back tamarin, ('' Leontocebus illigeri'') *

Red-mantled saddle-back tamarin The red-mantled saddle-back tamarin (''Leontocebus lagonotus'') is a species of saddle-back tamarin, a type of small monkey from South America. The red-mantled saddle-back tamarin was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the brown-mantled t ...

, ('' Leontocebus lagonotus'') * Andean saddle-back tamarin, ('' Leontocebus leucogenys'') * Black-mantled tamarin, ('' Leontocebus nigricollis'') *

Geoffroy's saddle-back tamarin Geoffroy's saddle-back tamarin (''Leontocebus nigrifrons'') is a species of saddle-back tamarin, a type of small monkey from South America. Geoffroy's saddle-back tamarin was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the brown-mantled tamarin, ...

, ('' Leontocebus nigrifrons'') * Golden-mantled tamarin or Golden-mantled saddle-back tamarin, ('' Leontocebus tripartitus'') *

Weddell's saddle-back tamarin Weddell's saddle-back tamarin (''Leontocebus weddelli'') is a species of saddle-back tamarin, a type of small monkey from South America. Weddell's saddle-back tamarin was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the brown-mantled tamarin, ''L. f ...

, ('' Leontocebus weddelli'') In some locations saddle-back tamarins live sympatrically with tamarins of the genus ''Sanguinus'', but the saddle-back tamarins typically occupy lower strata of the forest than do the ''Sanguinus'' species. Saddle-back tamarins have longer and narrower hands than ''Sanguinus'' species, possibly adaption to differing foraging behavior, as saddle-back tamarins are more likely to search for insects that are hidden in knotholes, crevices, bromeliad tanks and leaf litter, while ''Sanguinus'' species are more likely to forage for insects that are exposed on surfaces such as leaves or branches.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25384537 Callitrichidae Primates of South America Leontocebus