The Cottontop tamarin is a small species of monkey found in the forests of South America. It drews its name from its elegant white fur that flows over it's head and shoulders.

The cottontop tamarin is found in tropical forest edges from Costa Rica to north-western Columbia where the cottontop tamarin spends the majority of it's life in the trees.

Cottontop tamarins are among the smallest of the primates with a total length of 25 cm.

Unlike other monkeys the thumb of the cottontop tamarin is not opposable – it cannot flex it .

The cottontop tamarin is a diurnal primate which means it is most active during the day and rests in the safety of the tree tops during the night. They are very sociable animals and inhabit their territory with their rest of the cottontop tamarin troop which generally have between 2 and 14 members. Cottontop tamarin troops are led by the eldest female and have predominantly male members.

The male cottontop tamarins carry and groom infants while the females clean them . Older siblings are also known to contribute to infant care, although infants prefer to be carried by their parents than by their siblings.

Today, the cottontop tamarin is considered to be a critically endangered species with an estimated wild cottontop tamarin population of just 6,000. The main reason for the severe decline in the cottontop tamarin population is that they have lost more than 75% of their natural habitat to deforestation.