Saddle-back tamarins

Behavioural testing of protein fractions has not kept pace with semiochemical studies. Belcher et al. (1990) found that the mixed scent marks of the Saddle-backed Tamarin (S. fusicollis) comprise urine and genital/suprapubic gland secretions. Both sexes deposit mixtures of pheromonally active large molecules at, for example, exudate feeding... 

Epple G., Alveario M.C., Golob N.F. and Smith A.B. (1980). Stability and attractiveness related to age of scent marks of Saddle-Back Tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis). J Chem Ecol 6, 735-748. 

The scent mark of the saddle-back tamarin, Saguinusfuscicollis, contains water-soluble proteins. The major protein (66kDa) of the scent mark occurs in the urine, while another major protein (ISkDa) derives from gland secretions. If the proteins are removed by enzymatic degradation, tamarins still discriminate scent marks from different donor types. However, they are able to discriminate scents with intact proteins from those with the proteins digested. Consequently, the proteins are most likely an integral part of the scent image (Belcher et ah, 1990). 

For mammals, if not vertebrates in general, multicomponent pheromones appear to be the rule. Such mixtures can comprise compounds of a wide range of volatility. They have been variously termed odor profile, pattern, odor image (Albone, 1984), gestalt (Evans ct al., 1978), or mosaic (Johnston, 2005). One of the best-investigated odor profiles is that of the scent mark of the saddle-back tamarin, S. fuscicoUis, (Smith et al, 1985). Here, not even the 16 butyrate esters are sufficient for subspecies recognition. Additional volatiles are also required. 

Nordstrom, K. M., Belcher, A. M., Epple, G., et al. (1989). Skin surface microflora of the saddle-back tamarin monkey, Saguinusfuscicollis. Journal of Chemical Ecology 15, 629-639. 

Epple, G., Alveario, M. C., Belcher, A. M., and Smith, A. B. m, 1987, Species and subspecies specificity in urine and scent marks of saddle-back tamarins (Saguinus juscicollis), bit J. Primatol 8 663-681. 

In the common marmoset, for example, large sebaceous and apocrine glands are located mainly in the skin of the external genitalia, while the suprapubic area does not show morphologically differentiated glandular fields. There is no sexual dimorphism in the size of the glands (Sutcliffe and Poole, 1978). In the saddle-back tamarin, on the other... 

Epple, G, 1981, Effects of prepubertal castration on the development of the scent glands, scent marking, and aggression in the saddle back tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis, Callitrichidae, Primates),... 

Yoneda, M., 1984, Ecological study of the saddle backed tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) in northern Bolivia, Primates, 25 1. 

Epple, G., and Y. Katz Social Influences on Estrogen Excretion and Ovarian Ciclycity in Saddle Back Tamarins. (Saguinus fuscicolis). Amer. J. Primatol. 6, 215-227 (1984). 

---