The ecological role of the prehensile tail in white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus)

Abstract

Prehensile tails appear to have evolved at least twice in platyrrhine evolution. In the atelines, the tail is relatively long and possesses a bare area on the distal part of its ventral surface that is covered with der-matoglyphs and richly innervated with Meissner's corpuscles. In contrast, the prehensile tail of Cebus is relatively short, fully haired, and lacks specialized tactile receptors. Little is currently known regarding tail function in capuchins, and whether their prehensile tail serves a greater role in feeding or traveling. In this paper we examine patterns of positional behavior, substrate preference, and tail use in wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) inhabiting a wet tropical forest in northeastern Costa Rica. Observational data were collected over the course of 3 months on adult capuchins using an instantaneous focal animal time sampling technique. Differences in the frequency and context of tail use, and the estimated amount of weight support provided by the tail relative to other appendages during feeding/foraging and traveling were used as measures of the ecological role of this specialized organ in capuchin positional behavior. During travel, quadrupedal walking, leaping, and climbing dominated the capuchin positional repertoire. The capuchin tail provided support in only 13.3% of travel and was principally employed during below branch locomotor activities. In contrast, tail-assisted postures accounted for 40.6% of all feeding and foraging records and occurred primarily in two contexts. The tail was used to suspend the individual below a branch while feeding, as well as to provide leverage and weight support in above-branch postures associated with the extraction of prey from difficult to search substrates. A comparison of tail use in Cebus, with published data on the atelines indicates that both taxa possess a grasping tail that is capable of supporting the animal's full body weight. In capuchins and howling monkeys, the tail appears to be used more frequently and serves a greater weight-bearing role during feeding than during traveling. In Ateles, and possibly Brachyteles, and Lagothrix, however, the prehensile tail serves a dual role in both feeding and forelimb suspensory locomotion. Additional relationships between white-faced capuchin feeding, positional behavior, extractive foraging techniques, and prehensile tail use are discussed.

Meissner corpuscles and somatosensory acuity: The prehensile appendages of primates and elephants

“…Supporting this hypothesis is the fact that atelines possess MCs on the ventrodistal aspect of their tails, where a patch of dermatoglyphic skin is present (Biegert, 1961;Garber and Rehg, 1999). The prehensile tail aids suspension from small branches during feeding and locomotion (Grand, 1984).…”

Glenohumeral joint surface characters and its relation to forelimb suspensory behavior in three ateline primates, Ateles, Lagothrix, and Alouatta

“…In addition to the three ateline genera, Cebus and Hylobates were included in the analysis as outgroups. Cebus is a generalized arboreal quadruped (Gebo, 1992), with forelimb myology considered to be primitive in platyrrhines (Dunlap et al, 1985) and a prehensile tail like atelines (Garber and Rehg, 1999). Here, Cebus was considered to represent the morphotype ancestral to atelines.…”

Adaptive simplification and the evolution of gecko locomotion: Morphological and biomechanical consequences of losing adhesion

“…Many such innovations often occur repeatedly within, as well as between, clades. One example is the evolution of the prehensile tail, which has arisen in primates, nonprimate mammals, seahorses, amphibians, and several groups of lizard, allowing its possessors to move through the environment in novel ways (2)(3)(4)(5)(6). Although the acquisition of such innovations is often implicated in both diversification and ecological specialization, much less is known about the causes and consequences of their secondary reduction and loss.…”