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Phylogenetic Separation in Limb Use in Captive Gibbons (Hylobatidae): A Comparison Across the Primate Order
Author(s) -
MOOTNICK ALAN R.,
CUNNINGHAM CLARE,
BAKER ELAINE
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/ajp.22057
Subject(s) - prosimian , scratching , primate , lemur , hylobates , zoology , biology , evolutionary biology , ecology , physics , acoustics
Although there have been few studies of self‐scratching in primates, some have reported distinct differences in whether hands or feet are used, and these variations seem to reflect the evolutionary history of the O rder. Monkeys and prosimians use both hands and feet to self‐scratch while A frican great apes use hands almost exclusively. Gibbons represent an evolutionary divergence between monkeys and great apes and incidental observations at the G ibbon C onservation C enter pointed to a difference in self‐scratching among the four extant gibbon genera ( H oolock , N omascus , S ymphalangus , and H ylobates ). To validate and further explore these preliminary observations, we collected systematic data on self‐scratching from 32 gibbons, including nine species and all four genera. To supplement gibbon data, we also collected self‐scratching information from 18 great apes (four species), five prosimians (two species), 26 N ew W orld M onkeys (nine species) and 20 O ld W orld M onkeys (seven species). All monkeys and some prosimians used both hands and feet to self‐scratch, whereas one prosimian species used only feet. All A frican great apes used hands exclusively (orangutans were an exception displaying occasional foot‐use). This appears to represent a fundamental difference between monkeys and great apes in limb use. Interestingly, there was a clear difference in self‐scratching between the four gibbon genera. H ylobates and S ymphalangus self‐scratched only with hands (like all A frican great apes), while H oolock and N omascus self‐scratched with both hands and feet (like monkeys and prosimians). This difference in gibbon behavior may reflect the evolutionary history of gibbons as H oolock and N omascus are thought to have evolved before both H ylobates and S ymphalangus . What evolutionary pressures led to this divergent pattern is currently opaque; however, this shift in limb preference may result from niche separation across the order facilitating differences in the behavioral repertoire associated with hind and forelimbs. Am. J. Primatol. 74:1035‐1043, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.