---
title: "Cotton-headed Tamarin"
description: "Saguinus oedipus — Mammals. The cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) is a small New World monkey weighing less than 0.5 kg (1.1 lb)."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/cotton-headed-tamarin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Cotton-headed Tamarin

> Saguinus oedipus — Mammals. The cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) is a small New World monkey weighing less than 0.5 kg (1.1 lb).

- Scientific name: *Saguinus oedipus*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 1484
- Wikidata: [Q137528](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137528)
- iNaturalist taxon: [43391](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43391)

## Names

- en: Cotton-headed Tamarin
- de: Lisztaffe
- es: Tití cabeciblanco
- fr: Tamarin à crête blanche
- nl: Pinchéaapje
- pl: Tamaryna białoczuba

## Countries with the most observations

CO (893)

## Summary

The cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) is a small New World monkey weighing less than 0.5 kg (1.1 lb). One of the smallest primates, the cotton-top tamarin is easily recognized by the long, white sagittal crest extending from its forehead to its shoulders. The species is found in tropical forest edges and secondary forests in northwestern Colombia, where it is arboreal and diurnal. Its diet includes insects and plant exudates, and it is an important seed disperser in the tropical ecosystem.
The cotton-top tamarin displays a wide variety of social behaviors. In particular, groups form a clear dominance hierarchy…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton-top_tamarin

## Photo

![Cotton-headed Tamarin](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/cotton-headed-tamarin/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/255772184

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/cotton-headed-tamarin?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).