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Grooming in primates: Implications for its utilitarian function

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Abstract

Captive lion-tailed macaques, ring-tailed lemurs and Celebes black “apes” performed relatively more social grooming of areas which are inaccessible to self-grooming. Combined with considerable circumstantial evidence, this suggests that primate grooming may subserve real utilitarian functions in parasite removal, in addition to its acknowledged social functions.

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Hutchins, M., Barash, D.P. Grooming in primates: Implications for its utilitarian function. Primates 17, 145–150 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02382848

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02382848

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