Free Teacher Resources
A bright orange golden lion tamarin perched on a branch.
Photo: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Golden Lion Tamarin

Leontopithecus rosalia

A tiny, bright-orange monkey with a lion-like mane that lives only in Brazil's Atlantic Coastal Forest.

🐒 Monkeys
Checking teacher reviews…
Teacher? Sign in to review this page →Report a mistake

About the Golden Lion Tamarin

Golden lion tamarins live only in the Atlantic Coastal Forest of Brazil, now only within Rio de Janeiro state. Adults weigh about a pound and a half. They race through the trees along tangled vines and use long, thin fingers to dig insects out of cracks. They eat fruit, insects, small animals and bird eggs. At night they sleep in tree holes.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Leontopithecus rosalia[1]
Weight
About 1.5 pounds.[1]
Lifespan
About 10 years in the wild.[1]
Diet
Omnivore. Fruit, insects and other invertebrates, small animals and bird eggs.[1]
Habitat
Lowland coastal rainforest with vines and bromeliads.[1]
Where it lives
Brazil's Atlantic Coastal Forest, now only in Rio de Janeiro state.[1]
Group life
Family groups of two to nine, averaging six. Territories average about 100 acres.[1]
Babies
Pregnancy lasts 126 to 130 days. Usually twins.[1]
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2015).[2]

Fun facts

  • Golden lion tamarin fathers usually carry the babies after the first two weeks.[1]
  • Each newborn tamarin weighs only about 10 percent of its mother's weight.[1]
  • Tamarins have different alarm calls for hawks and for predators on the ground.[1]

Vocabulary

tamarin
A small South American monkey with claws instead of most fingernails.
bromeliad
A tropical plant whose leaves form a cup that holds water.
territory
An area an animal lives in and defends from others.
omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and other animals.
endangered
A conservation label meaning a species faces a very high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Zoo Atlanta. “Golden Lion Tamarin.” https://zooatlanta.org/animal/golden-lion-tamarin/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Leontopithecus rosalia (Golden Lion Tamarin).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/11506/192327291 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

More Monkeys

An Angolan colobus monkey with black fur and long white shoulder fur sitting on a branch.Angolan Colobus MonkeyColobus angolensisA black-and-white leaf-eating monkey of central Africa with a long, bushy-tipped tail and babies that are born all white.A common marmoset with white ear tufts and a striped tail resting on a branch.Common MarmosetCallithrix jacchusA tiny tree-sap-eating monkey of northeastern Brazil with white ear tufts, usually born as twins.A male drill with dark fur and a colorful rump walking on the forest floor.DrillMandrillus leucophaeusAn endangered baboon relative of West-Central African rainforests whose males have a bright red chin and a mane.A Schmidt's guenon with a white nose and a long reddish tail sitting in a leafy tree.Schmidt's GuenonCercopithecus ascanius schmidtiA colorful African monkey with a white nose and a chestnut-red tail, also called the red-tailed monkey, that stuffs its cheek pouches with food.A Wolf's guenon with gray, orange and white fur standing on a log.Wolf's GuenonCercopithecus wolfiA gray, red-saddled African forest monkey named after the person who discovered it, not after wolves.