June 26, 2013. The size of a primate’s social group can predict cognitive skills related to social abilities, according to research published in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Evan MacLean and colleagues from Duke University. Read the full story here.
June 26, 2013. Lemurs from species that hang out in big tribes are more likely to steal food behind your back instead of in front of your face. This behavior suggests that primates who live in larger social groups tend to have more “social intelligence,” a new study shows. Read the full story here.
June 18, 2013. Anyone who has ever owned a pet will tell you that it has a unique personality. Yet only in the last 10 years has the study of animal personality started to gain ground with scientists. Now researchers have found distinct personalities in the grey mouse lemur, the tiny, saucer-eyed primate native to […]
May 2, 2013. Until recently, the only primate known to hibernate as a survival strategy was a creature called the western fat-tailed dwarf lemur, a tropical tree-dweller from the African island of Madagascar. But it turns out this hibernating lemur isn’t alone. In a new study, researchers report that two other little-known lemurs — Crossley’s […]
March 26, 2013. Scientists have identified two new species of mouse lemur, the saucer-eyed, teacup-sized primates native to the African island of Madagascar. The new study brings the number of recognized mouse lemur species to 20, making them the most diverse group of lemurs known. Picked up by Science Magazine, Scientific American, Futurity, the Duke […]
January 23, 2013. Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns in Madagascar could fuel the spread of lemur parasites and the diseases they carry. The results will help researchers predict where disease hotspots are likely to occur, and prepare for them before they hit. Picked up by Duke News, Futurity, and RedOrbit. Read the full story […]
August 15, 2011. From hot pink to traditional French and Lady Gaga’s sophisticated designs, manicured nails have become the grammar of fashion. But they are not just pretty — when nails appeared on all fingers and toes in modern primates about 55 million years ago, they led to the development of critical functions, including finger pads that […]
July 27, 2010. Hormonal contraceptives change the ways captive ring-tailed lemurs relate to one another both socially and sexually, according to a Duke University study that combined analyses of hormones, genes, scent chemicals and behavior. Contraception alters the chemical cues these scent-reliant animals use to determine genetic fitness, relatedness and individuality. And, as a sort of double […]
