There are three recognized subspecies:

Saguinus nigricollis nigricollis
Hershkovitz (1977) recorded that it occurs between the Rios Solimões-Amazonas and Içá-Putumayo, at least as far west as the mouth of the Río Napo. Aquino and Encarnación (1994) documented its occurrence west from there along the left (north) bank of the Río Napo in Peru, upstream at least as far as the Ríos Aguarico, Lagartococha and Güepi on the border with Ecuador, where it is replaced by S. n. graellsi, as was proposed by Hershkovitz (1982). In Colombia, its distribution is poorly known, but Hernández-Camacho and Cooper (1976) and Defler (1994) reported that it occurs north of the Río Putumayo to the Río Caquetá, and east to the Brazilian border, indicating its, as yet undocumented, presence between the Rios Japurá and Iça in Brazil (Hershkovitz 1977, 1982). However, evidence for its occurrence north of the Río Putumayo in Colombia is sparse. Its supposed presence in two large protected areas in this region (La Paya National Natural Park and Cahuinarí National Natural Park) has not yet been confirmed (Defler 1994). Hernández-Camacho and Cooper (1976) reported that they observed S. n. nigricollis groups mixed with S. f. fuscus at Puerto Leguízamo, located on the north bank of the upper Putumayo. According to them S. n. graellsi is sympatric with S. n. nigricollis at Puerto Leguízamo, and west from there between the Ríos Putumayo and Caquetá. For this reason, they argued that the form graellsi should be considered a distinct species (see also Defler 1994). Otherwise the only evidence is that of a young specimen collected in 1960 by H. Granados and H. Arévalo labeled “Caquetá-Putumayo”, as reported by Hershkovitz (1982) who pointed out that it may have been taken from the left bank of the Río Putumayo. Hershkovitz (1982) argued that the evidence for the occurrence of S. n. nigricollis north of the Río Putumayo is not yet conclusive. In this case, the possibility remains that its range is restricted to the right bank of the Río Putumayo. This being so, Hershkovitz (1982) pointed out that there would be a gap between the ranges of S. n. hernandezi (north of the Río Caquetá) and S. n. graellsi (south of the Río Putumayo). Hernández-Camacho and Cooper (1976), however, give place S. n. graellsi as occurring north of the upper reaches of the Río Putumayo, north to the Río Caquetá, in which case the ranges would be continuous with S. n. hernandezi north of the Río Caquetá. The exact range of S. n. nigricollis in Colombia remains unclear. North of the Río Putumayo, S. n. nigricollis would be sympatric with S. fuscicollis fuscus.

Saguinus nigricollis graellsi
Saguinus nigricollis graellsi occurs in the upper Amazon, in southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and north-eastern Peru. Its range is not well known, however, and our interpretation of the current evidence indicates that it is probably more restricted than is indicated by Hershkovitz (1977, 1982). According to Hernández-Camacho and Cooper (1976), in Colombia it occurs south from right (south) bank of the upper Río Caquetá to the Ríos Sucumbios and Putumayo on the border with Ecuador. Hernández-Camacho and Cooper (1976) recorded that it occurred in the neighborhood of Puerto Asís on the upper Putumayo, east as far as Puerto Leguízamo. These authors informed that S. n. graellsi is sympatric with S. n. nigricollis in the region of Puerto Leguízamo, and the form graellsi should, therefore, be considered a distinct species, although doubts remain. Defler (1989, 1994) argued for this possibility, although Hernández-Camacho and Defler (1988) listed it as a subspecies of S. n. nigricollis. Hershkovitz (1982) argued that there is no definite evidence for S. n. graellsi occurring north of Ecuador, and suggested that Black-mantle Tamarins reported by Hernández-Camacho and Cooper (1976) may be either of the other two subspecies. He restricted its northern limit to the Ríos Putumayo and Sucumbios, indicating as such that it does not occur in Colombia at all. According to Hershkovitz (1982), in Ecuador S. n. graellsi extends throughout a large part of the Amazon region, south from the Río Putumayo, west to the foothills of the Andes. The altitudinal range is between 100 m and 1,000 m (Hershkovitz 1982). Hershkovitz (1977) suggested that the range in Ecuador may extend as far south as the right bank of the upper Río Santiago, although in a later publication (Hershkovitz 1982) he was more conservative, giving the north (right) bank of the Río Pastaza as the limit. The only specimens from the Ríos Pastaza and Tigre are from their uppermost reaches in Ecuador.

According to Aquino and Encarnación (1994), eastwards, S. n. graellsi extends into Peru along the right (south) banks of the Río Napo to its mouth, and restricted to the north (right) banks of the Ríos Amazonas and Marañón. However, S. n. graellsi has not been recorded in Peru except for the banks of the Napo and Curaray, and its occurrence in the basins of the northern tributaries of the Río Marañón has yet to be confirmed. Aquino and Encarnación (1994) reported that S. n. graellsi has never been found along the Rios Tigre and Pastaza, for example, despite a number of primatological surveys along these rivers between 1981 and 1986. The known distribution in Peru is restricted to the region between the Ríos Nanay and Napo. Although occurring north of the Río Napo in Ecuador, it extends east only as far the Ríos Güepí and Lagartococha on the frontier with Peru (Hershkovitz 1982), where it is replaced by S. n. nigricollis (Hershkovitz 1982; Aquino and Encarnación 1994). It has been recorded recently in a number of localities in northern Ecuador between the Ríos Napo and Putumayo, including the basins of the Río Aguarico, Cuyabeno and Pacuyacu (S. de la Torre, in litt. 1996). However, it has not been found in the Yasuní National Park, covering the basin of the Rio Yasuní, where it would seem that only S. tripartitus and S. fuscicollis lagonotus occur (Albuja 1994; S. de la Torre, in litt., 1996). Although Hershkovitz (1977) argued for the restriction of the type locality to the right bank of the Río Napo above the mouth of the Rio Curaray, no definite records or specimens are available for S. n. graellsi in Ecuador between these rivers (Hershkovitz 1977, 1982; Albuja 1994), and it would seem probable that only two Saguinus species occur there: S. tripartitus and S. fuscicollis lagonotus.

The distribution of S. n. graellsi therefore has yet to be clearly defined. However, if it occurs in Colombia it would be sympatric with S. fuscicollis fuscus, and in Ecuador and Peru it is sympatric, at least in some areas such as the upper reaches of the Rios Napo, Curaray, Pindo Yacu and Pastaza, with S. fuscicollis lagonotus (see Hershkovitz 1982; Aquino and Encarnación 1994). It would appear that it does not occur between the Ríos Curaray and Napo in Peru and Ecuador, and is not, therefore, sympatric with S. tripartitus. Tirira (2007) reported that the limjits of its range in Ecuador are poorly defined. In the north of the country, it is not known if it reaches the ríos Sucumbíos and Putumayo, and that the identity of the tamarins to the south of the Río Napo in the provinces of Oreallana and Pastaza is uncertain.

Saguinus nigricollis hernandezi
Saguinus n. hernandezi occurs in eastern Colombia between the Ríos Caquetá, Caguan, and Orteguaza and the base of the Cordillera Oriental, Intendencia de Caquetá (Hershkovitz 1982). K. Izawa (in Hershkovitz 1982) reported that S. n. hernandezi was not seen on the north bank of the Río Caquetá, but it has been found to the north and north-east of the Caquetá in the Department of Meta, Angostura I, on the right bank of the Río Guayabero (Hernández-Camacho and Defler 1988; Tovar 1994). Presumably it occurs at least along the eastern slopes of the Andes from the headwaters of the Río Caguan to the Río Guayabero. The altitudinal range is 150-500 m above sea level (Hershkovitz 1982).

Saguinus nigricollis is found in South America. They are located east of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador, and range west into the upper parts of Peru and Brazil, as well as the southern portion of Colombia (Emmons 1990).

Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )

The head and body length of S. nigricollis is 220 to 226 mm. Tail length ranges between 356 - 361 mm, almost twice the length of its body. And females weigh about 480 g, on average 10 grams more than males. Black-mantled Tamarins have black fur reaching from the head to the middle of the back, where it transitions into a reddish color. The hands, feet, and tail are black. They have hairless ears, and grayish-white hairs surrounding their muzzle. Saguinus nigricollis living west of the Iquitos river differ from those living to the east. West of the Iquitos Black-mantled Tamarins have blackish grizzled olivaceous forequarters while the bottom half is blackish yellow-olivaceous. (Emmons 1990, Rowe 1996)

Average mass: 475 g.

Range length: 220 to 226 mm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Average mass: 519.2 g.

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial

Black-mantled tamarins prefer mature forests, as well as dense secondary tropical rainforests. Those living on forest peripheries are found below 913 m.

(Emmons 1990, Nowak 1999, Rowe 1996)

Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest

Saguinus nigricollis spends 34.8% of the day foraging for insects, particularly large orthopterans, and 17% of the day searching for plant food. They feed on a variety of vegetation like fruits, seeds, flowers, nectar, and gum that includes 41 different species of plants. Adult black-mantled tamarins catch flying insects with their mouth and larger insects with their hands. These insects are shared with the infants and juveniles. Large grasshoppers, a favorite food, are eaten headfirst in about 5 minutes.

Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods

Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; nectar; flowers; sap or other plant fluids

Primary Diet: omnivore

Tamarins are important in their ecosystems as predators of insects and other invertebrates, and as prey animals for large predators. They may also disperse seeds from the fruits they eat.

Tamarins are preyed upon by animals such as raptors, snakes, cats, and even humans. Humans are responsible for depleting the number of surviving Tamarins due to clearing their forest habitat. Tamarins may escape some predation by living in groups where members warn each other of imminent danger. (Nowak 1999, Kinzey 1997)

Known Predators:

• raptors (Falconiformes and Strigiformes)
• snakes (Serpentes)
• domestic cats (Felis silvestris)
• humans (Homo sapiens)

Saguinus nigricollis is prey of:
Strigiformes
Serpentes
Homo sapiens
Felis silvestris
Falconiformes

This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.

Saguinus nigricollis preys on:
Insecta

This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.

Saguinus nigricollis has an average lifespan of 13.9 years in the wild (Rowe 1996).

Average lifespan

Status: wild: 13.9 years.

Average lifespan

Status: captivity: 11.1 years.

Average lifespan

Sex: female

Status: captivity: 15.2 years.

Average lifespan

Status: wild: 10.0 years.

Maximum longevity: 20.2 years (captivity)

In the wild only the dominant female of the group breeds during the breeding season. The Genus Saguinus have specialized scent glands in the mid-chest region and in the area around the genitalia. It is thought that reproduction is suppressed in other females due to subordination by the dominant female and pheromones in the scent marks from her circumgenital glands. Dominant females typically have multiple male mating partners, though they may also have only one. (Macdonald 1984, Nowak 1999, Rowe 1996)

Mating System: polyandrous ; cooperative breeder

Saguinus nigricollis has a gestation period of about 140 days, at which time females give birth to twins (78% of births). Birth to one offspring occurs 21% of the time, while three offspring occur 1% of the time. Black-mantled Tamarins give birth year-round and have a birth interval of about 8.4 months.  (Macdonald 1984, Nowak 1999, Rowe 1996)

Breeding season: Breeding and births occur year-round.

Range number of offspring: 1 to 3.

Average gestation period: 140 days.

Range weaning age: 4 (low) weeks.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 18 to 24 months.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 18 to 24 months.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); viviparous

Average birth mass: 43.5 g.

Average gestation period: 140 days.

Average number of offspring: 1.8.

In the genus Saguinus the father, and occasionally other adult group members, help during the birth by receiving and washing the newborn. The helpless young have short hair and cling tightly to the mother or father. The father will hand the young to the mother for feeding time, but then take them back once feeding is finished. This process happens about every 2 to 3 hours and lasts about 30 minutes. After 21 days the infants begin to explore new, nearby areas, but still ride on their parent’s back for about 3 to 4 more weeks. After only 4 weeks the young begin to eat soft food in addition to the milk from their mother. Several members of a Saguinus group will help provide food and care for the infants.

Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male); post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning

Black-mantled Tamarins are threatened by forest destruction throughout their range. The subspecies S. nigricollis hernandezi of southern Colombia is considered vulnerable by IUCN.

(Nowak, 1991)

CITES: appendix ii

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Population

Population Trend

Major Threats

Conservation Actions

There are no adverse effects of Black-mantled Tamarins.

Tamarins are charismatic members of intact tropical forests, making them potentially valuable for ecotourism. Some animals continue to be taken for the pet trade.

Positive Impacts: pet trade ; ecotourism