Does body posture influence hand preference in an ancestral primate model?

Scheumann, Marina; Joly, Marine; Leliveld, Lisette M C; Zimmermann, Elke

doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-52

Cited by 32 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…In addition, M. murinus essentially exhibited a whole-hand grip between the palm and all the fingers and preferred one hand in its first contact with the food. Therefore, the mouth was not always involved in the process of static food grasping, in contrast to what has been reported previously [Bishop, 1964;Dodson et al, 1992;Ward and Hopkins, 1993;Scheumann et al, 2011]. The nature of the food and the omnivorous diet of M. murinus may be linked to the degree of hand use.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

“…In comparison, Prosimii (lemuriforms and lorisiforms) are thought to be less variable in grip posture, to show no digital individualization and to use the mouth for grasping more often [Bishop, 1964]. In order to grasp static foods, the lemuriforms appear to prefer to grasp with the mouth as shown both by observations in the wild [Petter, 1962] and studies on manual preference [Larson et al, 1989;Ward et al, 1990;Milliken et al, 1991a;Dodson et al, 1992;Ward and Hopkins, 1993;Ward, 1995;Leliveld et al, 2008;Nelson et al, 2009;Scheumann et al, 2011]. However, these studies on manual preference often adopted protocols forcing the subjects to take static food through a wire mesh or a slot with their hand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The small, arboreal, nocturnal M. murinus is one of the most distantly related primates to humans ( fig. 1 ), and it is suggested that it represents the most ancient ancestral primate condition [Martin, 1972;Scheumann et al, 2011] and thus to possess a prehensile pattern which is phylogenetically conservative [Bishop 1964]. Therefore, this species is of particular interest in assessing the origins of grasping in primates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Food Prehension and Manipulation in Microcebus murinus (Prosimii, Cheirogaleidae)

Reghem¹,

Tia²,

Bels³

et al. 2011

IJFP

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Among primates, apes and monkeys are known to use their hands and to exhibit independent control of their fingers. In comparison, Prosimii are thought to have less digital individualization and to use their mouth more commonly for prehension. Unfortunately, prehension and manipulation studies in Prosimii have been conducted in conditions constraining the subject to grasp with the hand. Moreover, the effect of food size remains unexplored, even though it could affect the use of the hands versus the mouth. Thus, whether prosimians use the hand or the mouth to grasp and manipulate food items of different sizes in unconstrained conditions remains unclear. To address this question, we characterized the eating and manipulation patterns of Microcebus murinus in unconstrained conditions, using three food sizes. The results showed that M. murinus showed (i) an eating pattern similar to that of rodents, with smaller food items being grasped with the mouth, (ii) a greater tendency to use the hands for prehension of larger foods, and (iii) plasticity during food manipulation similar to that which has been observed in rodents. These results are discussed in the framework of grasping in mammals and are used to discuss the origins of prehension in primates.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Food Prehension and Manipulation in Microcebus murinus (Prosimii, Cheirogaleidae)

Reghem¹,

Tia²,

Bels³

et al. 2011

IJFP

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“…Gray mouse lemurs feed primarily on fruits and arthropods in the wild (Dammhahn and Kappeler 2008;Siemers et al 2007). Laboratory studies have shown that they preferentially use the mouth to grasp static food items such as fruits (Reghem et al 2011;Scheumann et al 2011;Toussaint et al 2013;Ward and Hopkins 1993). However, the use of the hands increases when grasping mobile prey such as insects (Toussaint et al 2013), a fact supported by observations in the wild (Charles-Dominique 1977;Martin 1972a, b;Siemers et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…One or both hands are typically used to catch fast moving foods, e.g., insects, particularly in platyrrhines, strepsirrhines, rats, opossums, and kinkajous (Charles-Dominique 1977;Ivanco et al 1996;Martin 1972a, b;McClearn 1992;Nekaris 2005;Niemitz 1984;Peter 1962). Yet, many of these species preferentially use the mouth to grasp static foods such as fruit (Pollock 1977;Reghem et al 2011;Rothe 1971;Scheumann et al 2011;Singer and Schwibbe 1998;Toussaint et al 2013;Whishaw et al 1998). However, the substrates used during food grasping are rarely considered and as such it remains largely unknown how these two parameters interact.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substrate Diameter and Orientation in the Context of Food Type in the Gray Mouse Lemur, Microcebus murinus: Implications for the Origins of Grasping in Primates

Toussaint¹,

Herrel

Ross

et al. 2015

Int J Primatol

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Grasping is a widespread behavior among tetrapod vertebrates. In primates, the hands and feet are involved in many tasks including arboreal locomotion and food acquisition. Yet, the origin and the evolution of prehensile capacities, which are highly diversified across this group, remain open for inquiry. Some researchers suggest that grasping evolved in an arboreal habitat consisting of fine branches associated with insect predation and/or fruit and flower exploitation. However, few studies have tested the importance of arboreal conditions and diet, e.g., frugivorous, omnivorous, on the use of the hands in food grasping. The aim of this study was to link substrate use and food grasping strategies quantitatively to test hypotheses concerning primate grasping origins. We studied a species often described as a good ecological model to study the origin of grasping in primates, Microcebus murinus, and quantified its spontaneous substrate use (diameter and orientation) in an unconstrained environment while presenting them with different food types (static and mobile). We show that 1) Microcebus murinus appears to be an opportunistic rather than a specialist user of fine branches as suggested previously, at least under laboratory conditions; and 2) food properties had an impact on the use of the hands vs. the mouth, with the hands being used more for the Int J Primatol (2015) 36:583-604 grasping of mobile prey. Our results are consistent with hypotheses for primate origins that propose adaptations to both a narrow branch environment and visually directed prey capture with the hands. However, additional studies in the wild are needed to understand better the origin and increased use of the hands in primates grasping and manipulation.

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Hand preference on unimanual and bimanual tasks in strepsirrhines: The case of the ring‐tailed lemur (Lemur catta)

Regaiolli

Spiezio

Hopkins

2016

American J Primatol

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Assessing manual lateralization in non-human primates could be an optimal way to understand the adaptive value of this asymmetry in humans. Though many studies have investigated hand preferences in Old and New World monkeys and apes, fewer studies have considered manual lateralization in strepsirrhines, especially in experimental tasks. This study investigated hand preferences for a unimanual and a bimanual task of 17 captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), housed at Parco Natura Viva (VR), Italy. The effect of age on handedness has been also investigated. The lemurs were tested on a unimanual task, in which subjects were restricted to using one hand to retrieve the food inside an apparatus, and on a bimanual task, in which lemurs had to use one hand to keep the apparatus door open while reaching with the other hand to retrieve the food inside it. At the population-level, our results revealed an asymmetrical hand use distribution, in particular a bias toward a right hand preference for food reaching in both the unimanual and the bimanual tasks. Furthermore, at the individual-level, the bimanual task seems to elicit a greater hand preference than the unimanual task. Results of this study underline the importance of experimental tasks in determining hand preference in strepsirrhines. Furthermore, as bimanual tasks elicited a stronger degree of lateralization, they appear to be more suited to investigate manual laterality. Finally, findings from this study highlight the presence of a right hand preference in ring-tailed lemurs, shedding new light on the evolution of human right handedness. Am. J. Primatol. 78:851-860, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Does body posture influence hand preference in an ancestral primate model?

Cited by 32 publications

References 50 publications

Food Prehension and Manipulation in Microcebus murinus (Prosimii, Cheirogaleidae)

Food Prehension and Manipulation in Microcebus murinus (Prosimii, Cheirogaleidae)

Substrate Diameter and Orientation in the Context of Food Type in the Gray Mouse Lemur, Microcebus murinus: Implications for the Origins of Grasping in Primates

Hand preference on unimanual and bimanual tasks in strepsirrhines: The case of the ring‐tailed lemur (Lemur catta)

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