Wild Fact #925 – Mustache Envy – Emperor Tamarin
Photo by Ghazghul at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghazghul/223052047/
I can’t believe it is Friday already! To show my appreciation I decided to complete a fact on an animal that is much cuter than the naked mole rat. Although, I guess any animal I wrote about today would be cuter than the mole rat.
So what is an emperor tamarin? Well this little mustache guy is a primate that lives in the southwest Amazon Basin. They weigh about 400 grams (14 oz) and mostly feed on insects, seeds and fruit. The emperor tamarin lives in families of about 3 to 8 individuals. They will actually team up with another type of tamarin called the saddlebacks. What is the purpose of this? Maybe they just like having a diverse family? Actually, this mixed troop of tamarins is a survival technique. The emperor tamarins are able to detect predators from the sky while the saddlebacks are better at noticing the land predators. So mixing the two types together seems like a pretty good idea, doesn’t it? Usually, these two type of tamarins will get along without any problems but it is clear that the emperor tamarins are dominant. My guess is they are dominant because of the wicked mustache!
An interesting thing about the emperor tamarin is the fact that two-thirds of the female population have the ability to see three different colours. This allows these females to pick out the ripe fruit. The other one-third of the females and all the males can only see two colours. This gives this portion of the population an advantage to spotting camoflaged predators. Once again, you have a pretty good, well rounded, family when you mix the two together. It is obvious to see that living in a group is a main survival technique for the emperor tamarin.
Before I go I want to give proper credit to the photographer of the Emperor Tamarin in today’s post. I came across it on Flickr by a person called Ghazghul and I highly recommend checking out some of their photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghazghul/223052047/.
Well that is the week of Wild Facts! Have a great weekend! I am off to get my very first Christmas Tree tomorrow so wish me luck!
Photo by Ghazghul at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghazghul/223052047/
December 4th, 2009 at 1:01 AM
With “mustache” like that, no wonder he’s the EMPEROR..
December 4th, 2009 at 2:27 AM
What a fascinating little guy; love the “Fu Manchu” moustache
) Good luck with your tree!
December 4th, 2009 at 2:57 AM
What a handsome devil compared to the last few. His feet look like they border on being webbed (but not quite). I love the eyes and ears on this little guy. He’s not even a pound, he’d fit into the palm of your hand…how sweet.
So you decided on a real tree, good for you. Should be interesting to see how Jersey (his dog) reacts to it. Good luck!
December 4th, 2009 at 4:51 AM
What a sweetie Nathan! Noticed two babies on the second picture – if the adults weight 14 oz what do the babies weigh at birth?
You’ll be glad you decided on a real tree…have fun getting it!
December 4th, 2009 at 3:12 PM
Very cute. Very nice articles!
December 4th, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Cute little guy, looks asian. Good luck with your tree tomorrow.
Get some pictures of it and we’ll vote on how well you did!
LOL
December 5th, 2009 at 3:00 AM
Best of luck for getting your first X’mas tree:)
December 5th, 2009 at 3:47 AM
What a cute little tiny fella. He looks a little like Santa with that wonderful mustache. Great post
December 5th, 2009 at 8:08 AM
hahaha! It is funny that you mention that. The rumour is the Emperor Tamarin was named after the German Emperor Wilhelm II because of the striking resemblance. Most notably the big mustache!
December 5th, 2009 at 8:09 AM
For something the size of a squirrel it is pretty neat to see such a cool mustache!
Thanks for the luck! I am sure I will need it!
December 5th, 2009 at 8:10 AM
The Emperor Monkey belongs to a group called the Squirrel Monkey’s so that should give you an idea just how small they are. I think it would be sweet having these little guys running around the yard stealing bird seed from the feeders.
It will be interesting getting the tree. Hopefully Jersey doesn’t eat the entire thing once we get it set up!
December 5th, 2009 at 8:18 AM
That is a good question! A new born emperor tamarin weighs about 1.5 – 2.0 ounces! They are just tiny little things.
I am looking forward to the trek out into the bush to get the Christmas tree. Actually, I am downloading some Christmas music right now for the trip
December 5th, 2009 at 8:19 AM
Thanks for the nice comment!
As well, I am happy you stopped by Wild Facts! I hope you enjoyed your visit.
December 5th, 2009 at 8:20 AM
hahaha! They do look a little like a wise, asian, kung-fu master, don’t they?
I might just post some pictures of the Christmas tree. We will see how good it looks before I post it on the internet!
Have a great weekend!
December 5th, 2009 at 8:24 AM
Thanks Denesa!
There is no question that I will need some luck today. I will let everyone know how it goes!
December 5th, 2009 at 8:25 AM
I never noticed the Santa resemblance before but now that you mention it, he does look a little like Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick! It would be tough for this little guy to lift the big bag of toys but sure would make sliding down the chimney easier!
Have a great weekend, Marg!
December 5th, 2009 at 1:25 PM
My nine yr old son, saw me reading your blog one day, and he fell in love with it. He tries to come and read it every day. I will be posting your blog on his favorites, at http://www.throughtheeyesofdj.blogspot.com so he can show off your blog.
December 6th, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for stopping by and I am really happy that DJ likes Wild Facts! It is interesting reading a blog from a nine year old. You don’t see that happen too often and I think it is a great idea.
Again, thanks for the kind words and placing the Wild Facts link on your impressive blog.
Have a great day!
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:25 PM
Really like this post, thanks for writing.