Scientists spot golden lion tamarin in Rio

Researchers from the Fiocruz Mata Atlântica Biological Station, of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), took the first picture of the golden lion tamarin (Leontophitecus rosalia) spotted in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The register is made after more than a century during which the animal was not seen in the city. The picture was published today (May 11).

Fiocruz researchers had encountered three specimens of the species in 2016. Only on April 19 this year, however, were they able to take the picture.

“This means that these animals are there, on a regular basis,” biologist Ricardo Moratelli told Agência Brasil. He is one of the scientists in charge of the environmental management and survey on biodiversity of the biological station. The next step, he says, is to find out where they come from—whether  they are the survivors of a local population or brought over from another region and released.

Moratelli said their presence indicates that the are could also shelter more golden lion tamarins, since the area was once their original habitat, which makes it possible for more specimens to be brought to the area.

Extinction

The researcher says the species was considered extinct in the city of Rio de Janeiro between the 19th and the 20th centuries, due to hunting and changes in the environment. In 1960, in preserved areas between the cities of Silva Jardim and Casimiro de Abreu, a mere 200 free specimens could be found living free in the wilderness—whose descendents add up to some 3.2 thousand today.

“The genetic diversity for this species is really low.” According to Moratelli, if the three individuals sighted on the Fiocruz campus had come from other areas and for some reason ended up there, that is what is best for the species. “The more genetic variability and geographic distribution, the better for the species,” he stated.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira