The IUCN Red List categorized the golden-headed lion tamarin as endangered in 1982. According to Costa, Leite, Mendes, and Ditchfield, Brazil accounts for about 14% of the world's biota and has the largest mammal diversity in the world, with more than 530 described species.[18] According to the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), out of the 24 endemic primates of the Atlantic Forest, 15 of them are threatened.