Cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus).
Image: Quartl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- CR · Critically Endangered
- Animal group
- Mammals
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2021 global assessment of Oedipomidas oedipus says Critically EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
The cotton-top tamarin is a tiny monkey with a shock of white hair on its head, found only in Colombia. It is assessed as Critically Endangered.
It lives in small family groups and is one of the smallest primates.
Range & habitat
A small area of tropical forest in north-western Colombia.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Deforestation
- Past capture for the pet trade and research
- A very small range
Why it matters
A tiny, charismatic primate with a very small range, the cotton-top tamarin is a flagship for protecting the dwindling tropical forests of north-western Colombia.
Gallery
Cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus).
Image: Michael Gäbler, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Cotton-top Tamarin
- IUCN Red List — look up Cotton-top Tamarin (authoritative status)
- Animal Diversity Web