Non-Human Primate Communication May Follow Grammar Patterns Once Thought Uniquely Human

The vocalisations of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), the olive colobus monkey (Procolobus verus) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus) all appear to contain patterns that resemble complex elements of human grammar. Researchers used mathematical models to analyse clips of these primate communications and identified some elements similar to supra-regular recursion — a grammatical structure that requires a listener to process a word or statement nested within a wider sentence without context. This level of complexity was thought to be unique to humans.

Why humans and great apes giggle alike when tickled

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and children laugh in similar rhythms when tickled. Researchers found that kids and apes left evenly spaced intervals between laughing sounds during a tickle attack, though children had a faster laughter rhythm compared with apes. Laughter might have picked up pace during the course of human evolution, the team suggests, which could reveal “something about laughter itself, but also, in a way, about the evolution of human speech”, says primatologist and study co-author Chiara De Gregorio.

Sibling Rivalry in Baboons

Young chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) vie for their mother’s attention more often when she’s grooming one of their siblings than when she’s free, which suggests that they get jealous of one another. Researchers found that the monkeys were more likely to interrupt their mother if she was grooming a younger sibling or one of the same sex. Their tactics included tantrums, attempts to physically come between their mother and sibling, and even tricks to lure their sibling away from their mother and take their place.

Primates might have evolved in the cold

The common ancestors of all modern primates — including us — might have flourished in the cold winters of North America, rather than the warmth of the jungle. Researchers combined fossil data with climate reconstructions and statistical modelling to map where our primate ancestors lived and what the climate was like at that time. “For decades, the idea that primates evolved in warm, tropical forests has gone unquestioned,” said evolutionary biologist and study co-author Jorge Avaria-Llautureo. “Our findings flip that narrative entirely.”

Capuchin monkeys kidnap howler monkey babies

Young male capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus imitator) have been observed ‘kidnapping’ infant howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata coibensis) in Panama.

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Posing as a parent may reduce a male's chance of be attacked by other males when foraging for food.

Chimpanzee drumming may give clues to the roots of rhythm

Wild chimpanzees drum on tree roots in specific rhythms to communicate across long distances. These rhythms differ between populations — western chimps (Pan troglodytes verus) thump in evenly spaced beats, while their eastern counterparts (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) take alternating long and short pauses after beats. A separate study explored how Western chimps drum by throwing stones against trees. Researchers suggest the behaviours are influenced by the social dynamics of the animals’ groups, and could hint at the evolutionary origins of musicality.

Genomes of the non-human apes

After more than two decades of work, researchers have sequenced the complete genomes of six ape species. An understanding of the apes’ genomes gives geneticists insights into the genetic factors that differentiate humans from our animal cousins. The results will also be key to analysing the genetic diversity of at-risk ape populations — all six species sequenced are listed as either endangered or critically endangered.

Marmosets use specific ‘names’ for one another

Marmosets use specific vocal labels to address other individual members of their species. When researchers separated pairs of marmosets with a barrier, they found that they used distinct ‘phee calls’ for the monkey on the other side. Besides humans, only dolphins and elephants have been recorded using similar labels for their fellow animals.

Why did the world’s biggest ape go extinct?

The largest primate to ever roam Earth went extinct because it could not adapt when its environment changed, reveals a detailed study of its teeth and the caves they were found in. Gigantopithecus blacki was around twice the height of a person and weighed up to 300 kilograms. Pollen analysis shows that around 700,000 years ago, the dense forests that it relied on gave way to more grassland. Trace elements in G. blacki’s teeth show that it was forced to consume a less nutritious, more fibrous diet.

Seven-million-year-old femur suggests Sahelanthropus tchadensis walked upright

An ancient human relative, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, might have walked on two legs seven million years ago. S. tchadensis could be the earliest known member of the hominin lineage, the evolutionary branch that includes the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees and ends with modern humans. The theory is based on a battered fossil leg bone that was discovered in Chad more than 20 years ago. But some scientists are not convinced that the femur’s traits prove the creature stood tall.

Scientists discover why the human brain is the largest ape brain

Scientists have identified a molecular switch that controls brain growth, making human brains three times larger than those of the other great apes. In studies on mini-brains grown in a dish, they were able to tinker with the mechanism to make gorilla brain tissue larger and human brain tissue smaller.

3300-year-old baboon skull may tell of mysterious ancient kingdom

Archæologists might have found the first hard evidence of a mysterious land called Punt where ancient Egyptians traded for precious metals and exotic animals. A mummified baboon (Papio hamadryas), taken from an ancient Egyptian temple and currently residing in the British Museum, seems to be the first known traveller from this antique land. The distinctive ratio of strontium isotopes in the baboon’s teeth show that it was born in an area that encompasses much of present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, and portions of Somalia and Yemen — just where most archæologists think Punt was located.

Ancient ape offers clues to evolution of bipedalism in hominins

The fossilised remains of a newly discovered species of ancient ape suggest that it might have been able to walk on two feet, millions of years before the first humans appeared.

The finding challenges the accepted idea that bipedal walking evolved much later in the ancestors of modern humans, and that having a skeleton adapted for regularly moving around on two feet is a unique and defining feature of hominins, the evolutionary group to which we belong. Not all researchers agree with the conclusions, however, and it is not yet clear where the ancient animal fits in the ape evolutionary tree.

The newly discovered ape — named Danuvius guggenmosi — lived in what is now Germany 11.6 million years ago. The fossils show that although it had long arms suited to hanging in trees, features of its legs and spine suggest it might also have been able to move around on its hind feet.

First observation of chimpanzees cracking open tortoise shells and scooping out flesh

Chimpanzees in Gabon were seen smashing tortoises' shells and sharing the meat with each other. One male chimp was seen stashing tortoise meat into a shell, storing it in a tree, and retrieving it the following day.

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Capuchin monkeys crack open clam shells.  Storing food for later retrieval is extremely common across animal species.

Extinct gibbon earliest known ape to vanish after the last Ice Age

A partial skull and jawbone excavated from the 2,300-year-old tomb of a Chinese noblewoman belonged to an unknown but now extinct gibbon.

Chimps and bonobos share a similar protolanguage

If a bonobo and a chimpanzee ever crossed paths, they'd probably be able to understand each other. Although it has been known for some time that bonobos and chimps perform a number of similar gestures, this is the first time that the meaning of those gestures has been found to significantly correlate. Between 88 and 96 per cent of the gestures performed by bonobos are also used by chimpanzees.

Chimpanzees understand circular hierarchies

Chimpanzees of all ages can learn the simple circular relationship between the three different hand signals used in the well-known game rock-paper-scissors.

Monkey seen caring for dying mate then grieving after she dies

The alpha male of a group of snub-nosed monkeys and his dying partner spent a final, tender hour together beneath the tree from which she had fallen minutes earlier, cracking her head on a rock. Before she succumbed, he gently touched and groomed her. And after she was dead he remained by her side for 5 minutes, touching her and pulling gently at her hand, as if to try and revive her.

Gorillas hum during meals

Gorillas sing and hum when eating, a discovery that could help shed light on how language evolved in early humans.

Human hands more primitive than chimp hands

The development of an opposable thumb that enables humans to grip and manipulate objects is widely believed to give us an evolutionary edge.  But new research finds that human hands are more primitive than those of chimpanzees.