Composition and proposed nutritional importance of exudates eaten by saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and mustached (Saguinus mystax) tamarins

I provide the first comprehensive data on the composition and mineral conte nt of exudates eaten by saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and mustached tam arins (S. mystax) and assess car-ber's (1984; 1993) hypotheses on the poten tial nutritional importance of exudates in the diet of tamarins. In accorda nce with his initial findings, nutritional analyses show that the gums cons umed are relatively high in calcium and may serve to balance a diet otherwi se low in this mineral and high in phosphorus. However, the data on the sea sonal variation in the amount consumed do not support the hypothesis that e xudates are of particular nutritional importance during the Inter stages of gestation or lactation for saddleback or mustached tamarins.