Ring-tailed lemur vocalizations
The ring-tailed lemur has a complex array of distinct vocalizations used to maintain group cohesion during foraging and alert group members to the presence of a predator. The tables below detail calls documented in the wild and studied at the Duke Lemur Center.[1]
Call | Vocalizers | Inferred Function |
---|---|---|
Moan
|
All except infants <14 weeks | Promotes group cohesion in low-to-moderate arousal contexts |
Early-High Wail
|
All except infants <6–8 weeks | Promotes group cohesion; indicates moderate-to-high level arousal level of caller |
Late-High Wail
|
Non-infant females (typically), males (rarely) | May promote group cohesion under conditions of extreme arousal |
Howl
|
Non-infant males | Male advertisement call; together with female counter-calling, howls advertise the presence and location of the group |
Hmm
|
All except infants <5 weeks | Indicates that slow group relocation is imminent and promotes group cohesion, or reflects a caller's desire to maintain conspecific contact |
Huh
|
Infants >3 months (most frequent); male juveniles and adolescents; rarely by adults | Similar to hmm, but marks a caller's location more effectively |
Purr
|
Adult females (most frequent); both sexes of all age classes | Appears to express contentment; also may communicate nonaggressive intent of an adult during close contact |
Chirp
|
All except infants <3 weeks | Elicits rapid group movement and may promote group cohesion in this context |
Call | Vocalizers | Inferred Function |
---|---|---|
Yip
|
All non-infants, except alpha females | Expresses mild fear and, perhaps, willingness to defer to a dominant |
Cackle
|
Adults of both sexes | A defensive display that may reflect a willingness to become aggressive if pressed |
Squeal
|
Males, during tail waving only | Male "status assertion" vocalization |
Twitter
|
All except infants <6 months | Communicates somewhat fearful but nevertheless assertive demeanor |
Plosive Bark
|
Both sexes of all ages classes | High-intensity threat vocalization |
Chutter
|
Dominant adults (toward subordinates of all ages) | Low-to-moderate threat vocalization; may encourage subordinates to give way to dominants, thereby reaffirming dyadic dominance relationships. |
Call | Vocalizers | Inferred Function |
---|---|---|
Gulp
|
All except infants <14 weeks | Generalized "group alert" vocalization |
Rasp
|
All except infants | Aerial predator alarm call |
Shriek, variant 1
|
All except infants | May serve to inform a raptor that it has been seen, and/or may discourage pursuit by intimidation, as well as to broadcast widely that a low-flying raptor has been detected |
Shriek, variant 2
|
All except infants | Same as variant 1, except that variant 2 may express the more urgent nature of the aerial predator encounter. |
Click
|
All except infants <2 weeks | The click is a low-arousal "location marker" that draws attention to a caller. |
Close-Mouth Click Series (CMCS)
|
All except infants <2 months | Moderate-arousal "location marker" |
Open-Mouth Click Series (OMCS)
|
All except infants | A "location marker" reserved for a limited number of contexts of very high arousal; also appears to serve as a cue that aids in the synchronization of yaps |
Yap
|
All except infants | Carnivore mobbing call |
Call | Inferred Function |
---|---|
Infant Contact Call
|
Conspecific vocal contact; functions initially to attract the mother and later as a precursor to moans and wails |
Infant Trill, variant 1
|
Expresses desire for, and contentment from, conspecific contact |
Infant Trill, variant 2
|
May express contentment and/or crossing the sensory threshold from contentment to discomfort |
Call | Inferred Function |
---|---|
Infant Whit, variant 1
|
Infant distress call; expresses discomfort and/or distress |
Infant Whit, variant 2
|
Infant high-intensity distress call |
Infant Yelp
|
Serves both as an affiliative and distress vocalization in eliciting prompt retrieval by the mother |
References
- Macedonia, Joseph M. (1993). "The vocal repertoire of the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta)". Folia Primatologica. 61: 186–217. doi:10.1159/000156749. PMID 7959437.
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