Simia Midas
The Monkey With The Golden Hands
The red-handed tamarin (Simia midas), also known as the golden-handed tamarin or Midas tamarin, is a New World monkey named for the contrasting reddish-orange hair on its feet and hands. It is native to wooded areas north of the Amazon River in Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, and possibly Venezuela. A population of tamarins south of the Amazon River that lack the contrasting feet and hands was previously believed to be a sub-population of red-handed tamarins but is now treated as a separate species, the black tamarin. It lives in cooperative groups of 4 to 15 members with little competition within group even between breeding males. Defense is a priority in a group, and when one tamarin is threatened the others will rush to its defense. The red-handed tamarin is territorial and can be aggressive, with sharp canines and claws instead of fingernails on all fingers and all but the large toe. The red-handed tamarin is an exceptional climber and spends most of its time among the vines and branches of the trees. It is quick and agile and is a superb jumper known to jump distances of over 18 m from a tree to the ground with no sign of injury.
