Study: Marmosets Call Each Other by Names

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Facts

  • According to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday, marmoset monkeys communicate with one another by name, a behavior hitherto observed in only elephants and dolphins, besides human beings.[1]
  • A team of scientists from Israel's Hebrew University found marmosets using special vocal calls, or 'phee calls,' to 'label and address specific individuals.'[2]
  • The team paired up 10 marmosets from three families in various combinations and used artificial intelligence to sort over 50K calls based on acoustic differences.[3]
  • The study discovered that the marmosets exchanged calls, took turns to converse, and could differentiate between calls directed towards them and others.[4][5]
  • Study co-author David Omer said that 'other non-human primates with the similar social structure of a monogamous family group may have developed similar behaviours.'[6]
  • Omer noted that naming each other needs sophisticated cognitive abilities, suggesting these behaviors are similar to those that enabled 'our prelinguistic humanoid ancestors' to transition from 'nonlinguistic communication to language.'[7][2]

Sources: [1]Independent, [2]Newsweek, [3]New Scientist, [4]Haaretz.com, [5]CNN, [6]Guardian and [7]Washington Post.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Atlantic. This major discovery suggests there were precursors for language development in non-human primates. It also challenged the notion that communicating with each other by name is a uniquely human trait. This ability serves practical and emotional purposes across species besides allowing individuals to track and address social companions.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. Anthropomorphism can lead to misunderstandings of animal behavior and inappropriate interactions with wildlife. While certain species, like primates and elephants, show behaviors that appear more 'human-like,' it's crucial to recognize that animal cognition and emotions may be fundamentally different from those of humans.

Predictions