[5] Photographic evidence of a black-handed tamarin in Confresa, a town in the northeastern region of the state of Mato Grosso, indicates an increase in the species' geographic range to the South.

[9] Some marmosets occupy small areas of forest in the Tapajós and Madeira Basins, but the black-handed tamarin is absent from these regions due to lack of food resources.

[10] Black-handed tamarins are arboreal primates that prefer semi-deciduous forest for ease of foraging and thick growth as cover from aerial and terrestrial predators.

[8] Due to deforestation in eastern Brazil, black-handed tamarins regularly rely on fragmented and disturbed secondary forest habitats.

[10] The species makes use of both primary and secondary forest during foraging, keeping primarily to the canopy and spending minimal time on the ground.

During the dry season (November through January), when fruit is scarcer, they will also take arthropods such as grasshoppers and crickets, and eat the gum of Parkia pendula, an evergreen tree.

[14] Because black-handed tamarins have both aerial and terrestrial predators, they utilize any tree or bundled, thick foliage into which they can climb, and they maintain a group sleep system to keep safe while resting at night.

The group aspect of their social structure is important to survival, as a single black-handed tamarin would not be able to forage and keep watch for predators safely and effectively.

[16] The black-handed tamarin is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN as a result of a 30% decrease in population size over the last 18 years, and is likely to become endangered if conservation measures are not taken.

The range of the black-handed tamarin is within one of the most densely inhabited areas of Brazil, where logging has removed a significant amount of the original forest, causing a decrease in food availability and refuges from predators.

[3] However, black-handed tamarins are adaptable foragers that can make use of primary, secondary and logged forests, which increases the potential available range of habitat.