Marmosets call each other by name. The primates are native to South America. Scientists from a university in Israel studied 10 marmosets. The team found that the animals used unique calls with other monkeys. The study's co-author said marmosets are the first non-human primates known to use names. Researchers studied marmosets in a variety of pairings. They then used A.I. to analyze more than 50,000 monkey calls and find the names.
The findings could show how human language evolved. People thought that our language was unique. However, a researcher said there is "evidence that this is not the case". He speculated on how marmosets developed names. He said: "Marmosets live in…family groups, and take care of their young together, much like humans do." He said these similarities suggest marmosets faced similar evolutionary challenges to early humans.
Try the same news story at these levels:
Marmosets - Level 5 or Marmosets - Level 6
Sources- https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/aug/29/marmosets-behaviour-specific-names-study
- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2445821-marmosets-seem-to-call-each-other-by-name/
- https://www.newsweek.com/monkey-names-marmosets-animal-intelligence-evolution-1946269
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