Short communication

Primate Biol., 5, 1–5, 2018

https://doi.org/10.5194/pb-5-1-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Self-anointing behaviour in captive

titi monkeys (Callicebus spp.)
João Pedro Souza-Alves1 , Natasha M. Albuquerque2 , Luana Vinhas3 , Thayane S. Cardoso4 ,
Raone Beltrão-Mendes2 , and Leandro Jerusalinsky5
1 Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, 50670-901, Brazil
2 Post-graduateprogramme in Ecology and Conservation, Federal
University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, 49100-000, Brazil
3 Graduate in Biological Sciences, Catholic University of Salvador, Salvador, 41740-090, Brazil
4 Graduate in Biological Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, 49100-000, Brazil
5 National Centre of Research and Conservation of the Brazilian Primates, Chico

Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, João Pessoa, 58010-480, Brazil

Correspondence: João Pedro Souza-Alves ([email protected])

Received: 30 July 2017 – Revised: 25 November 2017 – Accepted: 1 December 2017 – Published: 11 January 2018

Abstract. Self-anointing behaviour using Bauhinia sp. was reported in two captive titi monkeys (Callicebus
coimbrai and Callicebus barbarabrownae). The study was carried out from October 2013 to May 2014 during
an experimental study investigating the gut passage time of these individuals at the Getúlio Vargas Zoobotanical
Park, north-eastern Brazil. Although leaves, petioles and flowers of Bauhinia contain chemical substances that
could affect the presence of ectoparasites, it is unclear if titi monkeys demonstrate self-anointing behaviour as
a method of self-medication. However, due to the presence of large glands in C. coimbrai and C. barbarabrownae
chests, and the high frequency of occurrence observed for the adult male, we cautiously suggest that the use of
Bauhinia may be linked to olfactory communication.

1 Introduction Alternatively, self-anointing may be a form of group scent-

marking behaviour, just as urine washing, faecal marking
Non-human animals have been found to self-medicate or and even the use of plant extracts in some primate species
to scent-mark most commonly through self-anointing, fur- (Ueno, 1991; Campbell, 2000; Leca et al., 2007; Paukner
rubbing and scent-rubbing behaviours in order to alleviate or and Suomi, 2008, 2012). For instance, non-human primates
to control illnesses (Rodriguez and Wrangham, 1993) com- such as spider (Ateles spp.), owl (Aotus spp.) and capuchin
monly caused by leaves and/or invertebrates (i.e. zoopharma- monkeys (Cebus and Sapajus) have been found to use self-
cognosy). Self-anointing behaviour occurs when a solitary anointing as a method of scent marking (olfactory commu-
and/or group of animals rub directly or chew and mix plant or nication or enhanced sociality) between individuals (Laska
insect material with saliva on their fur (Huffman, 2011). Wild et al., 2007; Lynch-Alfaro et al., 2012; Jefferson et al., 2014).
and captive primates have been documented to use plants and Given that individuals often interact with each other while
invertebrates as medicinal agents to repel or kill ectoparasites self-anointing, this behaviour may reinforce social bonds and
(i.e. mosquitos, ticks) and microbial pathogens, as well as to may be a form of social convention such as handclasp groom-
treat wounds, and rubbing materials against individuals’ bod- ing in chimpanzees (McGrew and Tutin, 1978; Campbell,
ies, aiming to optimise the coverage of medicines applied to 2000; Carnegie et al., 2006; Laska et al., 2007; Leca et al.,
both individuals or groups (Westergaard and Fragaszy, 1987; 2007; Paukner and Suomi, 2008, 2012) and hand sniffing
Baker, 1996; Valderrama et al., 2000; Weldon et al., 2003; in white-faced capuchins (Perry et al., 2003). During self-
Falótico et al., 2007; Verderane et al., 2007; Meunier et al., anointing behaviour, the animals may either (i) bite and chew
2008; Morrogh-Bernard, 2008; Bowler et al., 2015).

Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the Deutsches Primatenzentrum GmbH (DPZ).

2 J. P. Souza-Alves et al.: Self-anointing behaviour in captive titi monkeys (Callicebus spp.)

the plant parts causing the production of saliva, possibly in-

dicating a medicinal function; or (ii) they may only bite and
squeeze the plants without the formation of saliva, demon-
strating a social function (Baker, 1996; Huffman, 2011). This
behaviour may occur in three ways: (i) when only one indi-
vidual rubs a substance on itself to reach specific body re-
gions (chest rubbing and muzzle rubbing); (ii) socially, when
individuals rub their bodies against those of other members
of the group in order to cover their whole body with the sub-
stance in question (Lynch-Alfaro et al., 2012); and (iii) when
they rub substances on scent glands found on their bodies
(Campbell, 2000).
Self-anointing behaviour has been reported previously
in titi monkeys. For instance, Plecturocebus discolor and
Plecturocebus toppini have been observed to use chewed
Tetrathylacium (Salicaceae) as well as Annonaceae and
Bignoniaceae plant leaves (Carrillo-Bilbao et al., 2005). Re-
cently, an adult male of Plecturocebus oenanthe was re-
ported to use Piper aduncum leaves (Piperaceae) for fur rub-
bing after chewing and squeezing the leaves (Huashuayo-
Llamocca and Heymann, 2017). Additionally, Plecturoce-
bus moloch1 individuals were reported to rub their chests,
likely in order to spread any odoriferous secretion from skin
scent glands (Moynihan, 1966). There is still limited data
available on in situ and ex situ behaviours for titi monkeys,
Callicebus coimbrai and Callicebus barbarabrownae. Self- Figure 1. Two captive titi monkeys, Callicebus coimbrai (left) and
anointing behaviour has been studied in capuchins due to Callicebus barbarabrownae (right), monitored during the study at
their anecdotal behaviour. Reporting this behaviour at an in- the Getúlio Vargas Zoobotanical Park. Photo: João Pedro Souza-
dividual or group level helps to increase our knowledge on Alves.
the range of species within the primate order that presents
such behaviour and what the possible behavioural contexts of
for a total of 362 h (monthly average: 51 h 49 min ±05 h
self-anointing are for a given species. It is therefore essential
16 min). Monitoring took place from dawn (05:00 h) to dusk
to identify new behaviours in these species in order to better
(18:00 h), with the main goal of verifying the gut passage
understand the social behaviour of poorly studied monoga-
time of these individuals, in a specific experimental design.
mous primate groups. Here, we report the use of leaves, flow-
However, we deployed “all occurrences” sampling (Altmann,
ers and petioles of Bauhinia sp. (Fabaceae) by two captive
1974) whenever scent marking did or did not follow the self-
titi monkeys (C. coimbrai and C. barbarabrownae) applied
anointing behaviours that were observed. During the study
during self-anointing behaviour. Our results are discussed in
period, the animals were kept in a 2 m × 3 m × 3 m enclo-
the light of self-medication and olfactory communication hy-
sure. Dry trunks placed on the ground, a pot with fresh water
potheses.
replaced daily and two plant species were (Eugenia uniflora,
Myrtaceae; and Bauhinia sp.) added to the enclosure. In addi-
2 Methods tion, dry lianas were present in the enclosure, with the aim of
providing environmental enrichment as well as for the wel-
The study, in which the observations were reported, was con- fare of the animals.
ducted at the Getúlio Vargas Zoobotanical Park (13◦ 00 2300 S;
38◦ 300 2000 W) in Salvador, Bahia, north-eastern Brazil. The
study subjects were two captive individual titi monkeys, an 3 Results
adult male Callicebus coimbrai and an adult female Callice-
bus barbarabrownae (Fig. 1), rescued from the illegal pet Self-anointing was observed on 29 occasions. In all cases
trade and included in the study. The animals were monitored only parts of Bauhinia sp. were involved. Self-anointing be-
between October 2013 and May 2014 (excluding April 2014) haviour was observed a total of 25 times for the male and
4 times for the female. The animals bit leaves (21 cases), peti-
1 The species referred by Moynihan’s (1966) study are Plectur- oles (5 cases) and flowers (3 cases) from the tree and kneaded
ocebus cupreus and Plecturocebus ornatus according to the recent them with either one or both hands. There were no obser-
taxonomy (Byrne et al., 2016). vations of individuals rubbing the plant on each other. The

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J. P. Souza-Alves et al.: Self-anointing behaviour in captive titi monkeys (Callicebus spp.) 3

two captive individuals strongly rubbed themselves with the and the accentuated odour of the flowers and leaves may
squeezed plant material against the chest–abdominal area. plausibly support the hypothesis of olfactory communication
This behaviour commonly involved rubbing only one item of between the captive individuals. Moynihan (1966) described
pressed plant parts during each event on the body and lasted scent-marking behaviour for P. moloch and indicated the
between 15 and 30 s, without the scent marking after such presence of large glands that release odoriferous secretions
behaviour. in the centre of an individual’s chest. Similarly, an adult male
individual of C. coimbrai was reported to rub their chest fur
when in the presence of another adult male (intergroup) and
4 Discussion a pregnant adult female (intragroup) in the wild (J. P. Souza-
Alves, unpublished data). During this behaviour, the adult
The genus Bauhinia is widely distributed across Africa, Asia male did not rub any external substances on the fur i.e. the
and South America. In Brazil, the genus occurs throughout individual only rubbed the sternal gland with the hand, likely
the country (61 species) and across a variety of biomes (At- inducing scent marking. This aspect reinforces the hypothe-
lantic Forest, Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pampas and Pan- sis of olfactory communication between captive individuals.
tanal) (Vaz, 2015). Their leaves and stem–bark have been Therefore, the self-anointing behaviours reported here may
used frequently in folk medicine as a remedy for a wide va- not necessarily be linked to self-medication or to repelling
riety of ailments such as diabetes, infections, pain and in- of parasites (Baker, 1996; Morrogh-Bernard, 2008), although
flammation (Cechinel Filho, 2000; da Silva et al., 2000; da some chemical substances found in the plant may act as a re-
Silva and Cechinel Filho, 2002; Cavalcanti and Favoreto, pellent. However, we can speculate that they may be associ-
2005). The major chemical constituents of Bauhinia sp. are ated with olfactory communication between captive titis.
flavonoids and kaempferitrin, although additional secondary
compounds are present, such as terpenes, steroids, aromatic
acids, quinones, lactones, and alkaloids, among others (da Data availability. No data sets were used in this article.
Silva and Cechinel Filho, 2002; Mali et al., 2007). Only
ingestion (i.e. via infusions or decoctions) of Bauhinia sp.
extract by humans has been previously described (Pinheiro Author contributions. NMA, LV and TSC made equal contribu-
et al., 2017; Sengupta and Ahmed, 2015). In contrast, the tion to the data collection and manuscript writing.
chemical substances (anethole, apiole, carvone, cineole, dil-
lapiole, phenylpropanoids) found in the leaves and fruits (e.g.
Citrus, Clematis, Piper, Sloanea) used by Cebus capuci- Competing interests. The authors state they have no conflict of
interests.
nus and P. oenanthe during self-anointing are considered to
be insecticides (Baker, 1996; Huashuayo-Llamocca and Hey-
mann, 2017). Although the Bauhinia sp. used by titi monkeys
Acknowledgements. João Pedro Souza-Alves was supported by
has important chemical substances that may have medicinal
a PNPD/CAPES fellowship (grant no. 527091) and FACEPE (Fun-
purposes for humans and non-human primates, it is unclear dação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia de Pernambuco: grant
if its use is related to the self-medication behaviour that oc- no. BCT-0025-2.05/17), Natasha M. Albuquerque was supported
curred in the captive titis. by a CAPES masters fellowship, TC was supported by an ICM-
Neotropical primates have been recorded using olfactory Bio/CNPq undergraduate fellowship and Raone Beltrão-Mendes
cues to signal territorial, social and reproductive behaviours was supported by a CNPq research fellowship (503372/2014-5).
(Di Fiore et al., 2006; Heymann, 2006; Jefferson et al., 2014). We are also thankful to all staff at the Getúlio Vargas Zoobotanical
According to Lynch-Alfaro et al. (2012), restricted locations Park for their logistic support. João Pedro Souza-Alves is also
on the body and lack of sociality for self-anointing behaviour grateful to his wife, Renata Chagas, for all her dedication, love
could indicate that medicinal use is less likely to occur. It has and comprehension during the study period. We are grateful to
Ute Radespiel, Michael Huffman and two anonymous reviewers
also been suggested that captive and wild Ateles geoffroyi in-
for their valuable comments on the manuscript.
dividuals use scent-marking behaviour as olfactory commu-
nication on the fur of specific body parts, for example chest- Edited by: Ute Radespiel
to-mouth scratching, chest rubbing, and rubbing of sternal Reviewed by: Michael Huffman and two anonymous referees
and axillary areas over either a vertical or horizontal surface
(Klein and Klein, 1971; Campbell, 2000). In contrast, Piper
leaves were rubbed against the abdominal area of P. oenanthe
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