The aye-aye may come across as a cute, albeit peculiar, creature with its large eyes, bushy tail, and sensitive ears. Its less lovable habit of picking its nose and eating the mucous has now been uncovered by experts.
Like humans, aye-ayes are primates, yet they only exist in Madagascar, are nocturnal, and are in risk of extinction. They are the subject of superstition because of their odd characteristics, which include rodent-like teeth and a finger that is long and slender with a ball-and-socket joint.
Even though it is well known that the animal utilizes its extraordinary finger for tapping on hollow wood to find and fish out grubs, researchers have now disclosed they have film of it being used for another, somewhat banal, task: picking its nose.
“While doing so, this animal inserts the entire length of its extra-long, skinny and highly mobile middle finger into the nasal passages and then licks the nasal mucus collected,” the authors wrote in the journal of Zoology.
Dr Anne-Claire Fabre, an assistant professor at the University of Berne and a scientific associate of London’s Natural History Museum who co-authored the research, said she recorded the behaviour on video in 2015 while observing captive aye-ayes at the Duke lemur centre.
“I was really surprised,” Fabre said, adding the whole middle finger disappeared up the creature’s nose. “It is nearly 8cm – it is really long, and I was wondering where this finger is going.”
To learn more, the researchers built a 3D model of the aye-hand aye’s and head using CT scans in order to visualize where the middle finger was supposed to go. The research suggested that the digit reached far into the head.
Fabre explained that although nose-picking had not been noticed in aye-ayes in the wild, that did not mean it did not happen. “This finger is practically finishing in the throat,” he added.
The researchers noted that the aye-aye was in good company when it came to nose-picking because at least 11 other primate species, including humans, capuchins, macaques, chimpanzees, and orangutans, had all been observed engaging in the behavior. Some of these species also used tools. Nose-picking, according to researchers, seems to be more prevalent in species with.
The researchers note that the reason why aye-ayes and other animals have a propensity for picking their noses may simply be an act of “self-cleaning.” They stated that there might be alternative explanations, however, given that a number of species consumed the mucus.
Among them, the team noted, were studies that suggested the “texture, crunchiness, and saltiness” of the matter could be appealing, that snot-eating may prevent bacteria from sticking to teeth and that the trait could boost immune responses. However, there could be a downside, they said: other research has suggested nose-picking spreads nasal bacteria.
Fabre added that nose-picking was understudied and more research was needed. “You never know when studying this type of behaviour where you can end up, and sometimes you can discover an application that we’re not expecting,” she said.
Source of the news: https://www.theguardian.com
