Black-faced Lion Tamarin
Leontopithecus caissara Lorini and Persson, 1990
CR C2a(i)

The black-faced lion tamarin was only discovered in 1990 in island forests of the 21,400-hectare Superagüi National Park in the Brazilian state of Paraná, and has subsequently been found to occur inland in the same state, as well as in the southeastern tip of the state of São Paulo. Its discovery is considered one of the most significant and surprising primatological events of the 20th century, largely because this diminutive species had remained undetected for so long in such an intensely developed and highly populated region of Brazil. The most recent population estimate is about 400 animals, approximately 300 from Superagüi and an unknown number from the much larger Jacupiranga State Park (150,000 ha, only part of which is forested) in the state of São Paulo. Ongoing field studies by Brazilian primatologists continue to identify new populations and extend the black-faced lion tamarin’s range inland, but we still know relatively little about this species’ ecology and conservation status. Unlike the three other Leontopithecus species, there is no captive population of the black-faced lion tamarin.