Curious George? Monkeys have NAMES for each other – just like humans, study finds
From Curious George to Aladdin’s sidekick, Abu, monkeys with weird and wonderful names have been staple features of cartoons for years.
Now, a study has revealed that monkeys even have names for one another in the real-world.
Marmosets use specific calls – known as ‘phee-calls’ – to identify and communicate with each other, say scientists.
From Curious George to Aladdin’s sidekick, Abu, monkeys with weird and wonderful names have been staple features of cartoons for years.
Now, a study has revealed that monkeys even have names for one another in the real-world.
Marmosets use specific calls – known as ‘phee-calls’ – to identify and communicate with each other, say scientists.
Humans, dolphins and elephants are the only other species known to do so, according to the study, led by researchers from the Hebrew University.
The discovery highlights the ‘complexity’ of social communication in marmosets, and could help to unravel the mystery of the evolution of human language.
In the study, the team recorded natural conversations between pairs of marmosets, as well as interactions between monkeys and a computer system.
They discovered that the monkeys use their ‘phee-calls’ to address specific individuals.
The team also found that the marmosets could discern when a call was directed at them and responded more accurately when it was.
Dr David Omer, who led the study, said: ‘This discovery highlight the complexity of social communication among marmosets.
‘These calls are not just used for self-localisation, as previously thought – marmosets use these specific calls to label and address specific individuals.’
The researchers also discovered that family members within a marmoset group use similar vocal labels to address different individuals and employ similar sound features to code different names, resembling the use of names and dialects in humans.
Dr Omer says the learning appears to occur even among adult marmosets who are not related by blood, suggesting that they learn both vocal labels and dialect from other members of their family group.
From Curious George (pictured) to Aladdin’s sidekick, Abu, monkeys with weird and wonderful names have been staple features of cartoons for years
The researchers believe that vocal labelling may have evolved to help marmosets stay connected in the dense rainforest habitat where they live as visibility is often limited.
By using the calls, they can maintain their social bonds and keep the group cohesive.
Dr Omer said: ‘Marmosets live in small monogamous family groups and take care of their young together, much like humans do.
‘These similarities suggest that they faced comparable evolutionary social challenges to our early pre-linguistic ancestors, which might have led them to develop similar communicating methods.’
He added: ‘This research provide new insights into how social communication and human language might have evolved.
‘The ability of marmosets to label each other with specific calls suggests they have developed complex brain mechanisms, potentially analogous to those that eventually gave rise to language in humans.
‘The study opens up exciting avenues for further research into how our own communication abilities may have evolved and what we can learn from these social non-human primates.’
