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Female crested gibbons display jerky, almost geometric patterns of movement. Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), Oslo in Norway and Paris have studied these conspicuous movements, which are comparable to human dances.

In the journal Primates, they describe the structure of the dances, their rhythm and the contexts in which the dances occur.

Zoo visitors have perhaps already seen how female crested gibbons perform conspicuous sequences of twitching movements involving the rump, arms and legs. This behavior can be observed in zoos and also in the wild.

Crested gibbons belong to the family of small apes. There has been little scientific interest in this special display to date. Dr. Kai R. Caspar from the Institute of Cell Biology at HHU, Dr. Camille Coye from the Institut Jean Nicod in Paris and Professor Dr. Pritty Patel-Grosz from the University of Oslo in Norway have now analyzed this striking behavior of the gibbons in more detail. They focused on the sequence of movements, rhythm and intentionality—i.e. the circumstances in which the gibbons perform the dances.

Credit: C. Coye et al

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