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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Golden Lion Tamarin

Leontopithecus rosalia (Linnaeus, 1766)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia; Portuguese: mico-leão-dourado [ˈmiku leˈɐ̃w do(w)ˈɾadu, - liˈɐ̃w -]), less commonly known as the golden lion marmoset, is a small New World monkey of the family Callitrichidae. Endemic to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, the golden lion tamarin is an endangered species. Its geographic range is entirely within the state of Rio de Janeiro. A 2022/2023 census estimated about 4,800 individuals living in the current primary area of occurrence in the non-coastal area of the São João and Macaé river basins, with unknown but smaller additional numbers in limited coastal forests and to the west of the primary area of occurrence. There is a captive population maintaining about 490 individuals among 150 zoos.

Wikipedia contributors, Golden lion tamarin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:16:42.348251+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Leontopithecus rosalia (Linnaeus, 1766)
Name authority
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Common name
Golden Lion Tamarin
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Primates
Family
Callitrichidae
Genus
Leontopithecus
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
  9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
  10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
  11. orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
  12. suborderHaplorrhini Pocock, 1918
  13. infraorderSimiiformes Haeckel, 1866
  14. familyCallitrichidae Gray, 1821
  15. genusLeontopithecus Lesson, 1840
  16. speciesLeontopithecus rosalia (Linnaeus, 1766)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Leontopithecus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Black-faced Lion TamarinLeontopithecus caissara Lorini & Persson, 1990CallitrichidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Golden-headed Lion TamarinLeontopithecus chrysomelas (Kuhl, 1820)CallitrichidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Black Lion TamarinLeontopithecus chrysopygus (Mikan, 1823)CallitrichidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 45 records assigned to Callitrichidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

South America

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=572922 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3T6ZV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.