Sociosexual behavior and chemical communication of Aotus nancymaae

Sociosexual behavior and chemical communication of Aotus nancymaae Article

Wolovich, CK, Evans, S. (2007). Sociosexual behavior and chemical communication of Aotus nancymaae . 28(6), 1299-1313. 10.1007/s10764-007-9228-3

Owl monkeys (Aotus spp.) are unique because they are the only nocturnal anthropoids. Though medical researchers have used them extensively, thorough descriptions of their social behavior are sparse. We examined in detail the social behavior of 12 male-female captive pairs of Aotus nancymaae over an entire year. We compared data from males and females to determine if there are sexual differences in scent-marking, allogrooming, and other sociosexual behavior. We compared observation periods with and without mounting to determine if any behavior is associated with mounting. We present previously unreported behaviors for Aotus including urine-drinking and a suite of behaviors that we consider to function in olfactory communication. Males and females differed in their rates of several sociosexual behaviors; males anogenitally sniffed, drank urine, touched, and marked their mates more frequently than females did. We confirm earlier suggestions that allogrooming is rare in Aotus and is associated with mounting. Pairs of owl monkeys did not regularly exhibit behaviors that are typical for most monogamous primates but instead displayed a unique suite of behaviors adapted for their nocturnal lifestyle. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.