Cotton-top tamarin
Amazing fact
When alert, the cotton-top tamarin raises its head hair to try to look bigger.
Smithsonian National Zoo
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
When alert, the cotton-top tamarin raises its head hair to try to look bigger.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Cotton-top tamarin
- Scientific name
- Saguinus oedipus
- Japanese name
- ワタボウシタマリン
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Primates
- Family
- Callitrichidae
- Genus
- Saguinus
This monkey lives in families made up of a male, a female and their young in the tropical rainforests of northwestern Colombia.
As its name suggests, it has a cotton-like crest on top of its head. It communicates with high, bird-like calls.
The mother nurses the babies, but the father and siblings carry them on their backs, so the family raises the young together.
How the Cotton-top tamarin lives
It is active during the day. It forages in the treetops, eating insects, fruit, nectar and tree sap. It sometimes comes down to the ground to search for food among fallen leaves. At night, it sleeps with its group high up in tree forks.
Smithsonian National ZooBasic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 21–26 cm
- Weight
- 400–420 g
- Diet
- New leaves, leaf buds, nectar, sap, insects, frogs, and lizards
- Range
- Southeastern Costa Rica in Central America to northwestern Colombia
Where the Cotton-top tamarin has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ワタボウシタマリン
- 简体中文
- 绒顶柽柳猴
- 繁體中文
- 絨頂檉柳猴
- 한국어
- 솜털머리타마린
- Español
- Tití Pielroja
- Français
- Pinché à crête blanche
- Deutsch
- Lisztaffe
- Português (Brasil)
- Sagüi-de-cabeça-branca
- Italiano
- Tamarino edipo
- العربية
- تمارين قطني الرأس
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Tamarin berkepala kapas
- Русский
- Эдипов тамарин
- বাংলা
- তুলামাথা টামারিন
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — ワタボウシタマリンChecked: 2026-11-03
- Smithsonian National Zoo — Cotton-top tamarinChecked: 2026-11-06
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Cotton-top tamarin, look for this
- Look for the long tail it uses to balance in the treetops.
- Look for the white streaks around its eyes and cheeks.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
Smithsonian National ZooEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Cotton-top tamarin
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Callitrichidae
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