Emperor Tamarin

The "Emperors" are mainly gray on their bodies, with a mixture of fine yellow hair on their backs and a rusty-red scattering of color on their breast. Like most tamarins, this species has claws on all of its fingers and toes except the great toe, which has a nail. Emperor tamarins are active by day and are very graceful, friendly, and playful monkeys. They are "leapers" in their motor behavior and move through trees with rather quick, jerky movements.

Their diet consists mainly of fruits, insects, and tree sap. Emperor tamarins get most of the protein in their diet through eating invertebrates such as locusts, beetles, butterflies, spiders, and ants.