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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: primates

primates stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Fossil Find 
 Shakes Up 
 Evolution 
 Timeline 

Ardipithecus ramidus lived in trees and walked upright

Oct 1, 09 11:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - A primate fossil found in Africa in 1994 predates the famous “Lucy” skeleton by 1 million years and offers clues to human evolution, researchers say. “This is huge,” a paleoanthropologist tells the Washington Post. “This is the biggest discovery really since” Lucy. The researchers believe... More »

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Africa • evolution • archaeology • paleontology • fossil • chimpanzees • Lucy • primates • scientific study • Australopithecus • Ardipithecus ramidus

Monkeys Only Like Monkey Music—and Metallica  

Heavy metal had calming effect on monkeys who ignored classic rock and jazz

Sep 2, 09 8:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Monkeys subjected to a range of human music ignored Bach, Nine Inch Nails, and jazz, but found Metallica soothing, the Daily Telegraph reports. The experiment on a group of cottontop tamarins, carried out by a psychologist and a cellist, found that while the monkeys showed no response to human music,... More »

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music • monkey • Metallica • heavy metal • primates • Jay-ZTV • primatology

(Newser) - The LA Times catches up with chimp guru Jane Goodall, who argues in a new book that that the world is nearly "at the point of no return" on the environment, but that political will can turn things around. Interview excerpts:
  • On the environment: "When I began
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • Africa • animal cruelty • zoo • chimpanzees • primates • Jane Goodall • primatology

If Monkeys
Could Talk ...

Tamarins possess
skills fundamental
to human language: researchers

Jul 9, 09 3:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Monkeys can recognize “incorrect” syllable pattern in words, revealing that species other than human possess the underlying skills necessary for anguage, the BBC reports. Researchers played recordings of made-up words that shared either a common prefix or suffix for two groups of cotton-top tamarin monkey. Tamarins familiarized with either... More »

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memory • learning • monkey • language • primates • pattern recognition

 Whatever Happened 
 to Jacko's Bubbles? 

Bubbles was Jackson's infamous "bosom pal," but where is he now?

Jun 29, 09 9:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - In the wake of Michael Jackson’s death, Neal Rubin of the Detroit News wondered: Whatever happened to Bubbles the chimpanzee? “For a while, Bubbles appeared to be Jackson’s best friend, which was sort of sad for both of them,” Rubin writes. The odd coupling lasted from... More »

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entertainment • celebrity • chimpanzees • Michael Jackson • primates • Bubbles the Chimp

 Some Male, Mom 
 Baboons 'Just Friends' 

Primatologists baffled by sexless simian friendships

Jun 17, 09 5:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are trying to figure out why many male baboons enter into platonic friendships with single moms, the BBC reports. Researchers probing relationships within baboon tribes found that the friendships, which did not appear to involve sex in about half the instances, helped mother and offspring dodge the unwanted attentions... More »

MORE ABOUT:
wildlife • monkey • animal behavior • primates • animal • baboon

 Congo Battles 
 Gorilla Pet Trade 

World's only sanctuary for orphaned gorillas seeks to boost tourist numbers

May 28, 09 8:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Conservationists trying to save the Republic of Congo's gorillas are fighting to protect the primates from poachers and the pet trade, the Daily Telegraph reports. One foundation, which warns that the gorilla population will be half what it is now by 2020 at the current rate of extermination, has founded... More »

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endangered species • gorilla • Western Lowland Gorilla • primates • Congo • Republic of Congo

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the oldest intact primate fossil on record, ABC News reports. Nicknamed “Ida,” the 47-million-year-old lemur-like creature had opposable thumbs, fingernails instead of claws, and legs that could have evolved to walk upright. Scientists don’t think Ida is a direct ancestor of humans, though. “... More »

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evolution • paleontology • fossil • scientific discoveries • primates • opposable thumbs

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a 47 million-year-old primate fossil that they believe represents the common ancestor of all later monkeys, apes, and humans, reports the Wall Street Journal. The find supports a theory that humans' ancient ape-like ancestor was an adapid, which is also believed to be linked to lemurs. The... More »

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paleontology • fossil • anthropology • skeleton • Neanderthals • prehistoric • Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology • primates

 Chimp 'Prostitutes' 
 Trade Sex for Meat 

Male chimps who shared hunt spoils had twice as many partners

Apr 8, 09 8:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Male chimps who get lucky hunting are a lot likelier to get lucky with female chimps if they share the spoils, a new study finds. Researchers tracked a band of chimps in the wild and found that while all were promiscuous, male hunters who shared meat—generally a rare treat... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prostitution • chimpanzees • animal behavior • primates

Family of
Chimp Victim Sues for $50M

They say primate's owner should not have owned 'wild animal'

Mar 17, 09 3:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Relatives of a woman mauled by a pet chimp are suing the primate's owner for $50 million, the New York Post reports today. The family of Charla Nash says Sandra Herold had no business owning a "wild animal with violent propensities" because she didn't have the skill or strength... More »

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pets • monkey • chimpanzees • primates • Charla Nash • Travis

 Monkeys Teach 
 Their Young 
 to Floss 

'Monkey see, monkey floss' behavior surprises scientists

Mar 13, 09 4:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Monkeys in Thailand have been filmed apparently teaching good oral hygiene to their young, the BBC reports. Macaque mothers living in an urban area north of Bangkok were seen flossing with strands of human hair, and doing so with slower, more exaggerated movements when their infants were watching. Researchers—amazed... More »

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Thailand • monkey • primates • macaque

Feds Probe Firebombing of Animal Researcher's Car

Attack targeted professor who used primates to study addiction

Mar 10, 09 3:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - An federal anti-terror task force is probing the firebombing of a UCLA neuroscientist's car, the Los Angeles Times reports. An animal rights group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place outside the researcher’s house and caused no injuries. The professor targeted has been using primates for research... More »

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California • FBI • bomb • animal rights • neuroscience • UCLA • primates • Animal Liberation Front

 Dogs Get Jealous: Study 

But canine envy is simpler than that felt by primates

Dec 8, 08 2:32 PM CST
(Newser) - Dogs can indeed get jealous, a new study shows. While it’s known that other primates feel envy, the report offers the first evidence of the green-eyed monster in canines. Dogs were paired up and commanded to put their paw in an experimenter’s hand, and then given unequal rewards:... More »

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experiments • canine behavior • science experiment • primates • dog • canines • envy

 Long-Lost 
 'Furby' 
 Species 
 Found 

Tiny primate thought extinct found alive and well in Indonesian mountaintop forest

Nov 20, 08 4:21 AM CST
(Newser) - Scientists on a remote Indonesian mountaintop have discovered a pocket-sized primate not seen alive since the 1920s, CNN reports. The giant-eyed, two-ounce pygmy tarsier had been thought extinct until one was found dead in a rat trap, inspiring a professor from Texas A&M University to lead an expedition to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • Indonesia • extinction • primates • zoologists • animal

 Tarzan's 
 Old Pal 
 Enjoys His 
 Retirement 

At  76, Tarzan co-star keeping busy with painting, TV

Oct 11, 08 12:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cheeta the chimp is enjoying a fairly humdrum retirement after his glittering showbiz career, Entertainment Weekly reports. Cheeta, at 76 the world's oldest domesticated simian, was plucked from the jungles of Africa as a baby and starred in the '30s Tarzan movies. An "autobiography"—more of a Hollywood... More »

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Hollywood • retirement • chimpanzees • autobiography • primates • animal

OLYMPICS

 Phelps'
 Victory Dance:
 It's Evolutionary

All primates share body language of pride, shame: researchers

Aug 12, 08 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - The classic chest-out, arms-outstretched victory dance Olympic champ Michael Phelps performed after Sunday's 4-x-100 relay final is older than humanity, the LA Times reports. The same display of pride is instinctive to all primates, researchers say, and the body language of victory and defeat is rooted in the age-old need... More »

MORE ABOUT:
evolution • Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • athlete • dance • monkey • primates • Olympics

 Huge Gorilla
 Population Found
 in Congo

125,000 endangered primates located in northern Congo Republic

Aug 5, 08 4:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - As recently as last year, the western lowland gorilla was listed as one of the world's most critically endangered primate species, nearly wiped out by the Ebola virus. But an arduous survey has revealed that 125,000 gorillas are living in the northern Congo Republic, deep in a swampy region... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • monkey • gorilla • Western Lowland Gorilla • biologists • primates • Congo Republic

 'Yeti' Hairs Sent for DNA Tests

Hairs found in jungle may belong to unknown species of primate

Jul 26, 08 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists hope DNA tests will clear up the mystery of hairs claimed to be from a "yeti," or giant ape-like creature, the BBC reports. The hairs, found in dense jungle in India, are not from any known animal in the area. They also bear a strong resemblance to... More »

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India • DNA • bigfoot • Sasquatch • primates • animal

Tiny Monkey Fossil Spurs Scientific Flap

Did oldest primate in
North America arrive
from east or west?

Mar 4, 08 1:10 PM CST
(Newser) - A diminutive fossil recently found in Mississippi is the oldest primate discovered in North America, and its exact age is raising questions about the timing of prehistoric animal migrations, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The existence of the tiny, tarsier-like creature, which could fit in the palm of a human hand,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fossil • Mississippi • primates • Christopher Beard • tarsier • Teilhardina magnoliana • Paleocene • Carnegie Museum of Natural History

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