Largest genus of tamarin

The largest genus of tamarin is Saguinus, which currently contains 18 species (reduced to 14 by some researchers). These are the true tamarins, squirrel-sized and closely related to the lion tamarins and the marmosets. They are widely distributed in South America, but especially Brazil, as well as Central America. Several new species have been discovered and described in recent years.

Marmosets and tamarins belong to the taxonomic family Callitricidae, which is totally separate from the four families of so-called true New World monkey, having apparently descended from them but becoming dwarfed via evolution – they are the smallest New World primates alive today.