Oxford and Liverpool researchers say the hormones, called androgens, which are known to affect finger length during development in the womb, play a major role in social behavior in primate groups.
Androgens are important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and strength, and high levels of one such hormone, called testosterone, increase the length of the fourth finger in comparison to the second finger.In the study, researchers used finger ratios as an indicator of the levels of exposure to the hormone and compared the data with social behavior in primate groups.
After analyzes, they found that Old World monkeys, such as baboons and rhesus macaques, have a longer fourth finger in comparison to the second finger, which suggests that they have been exposed to high levels of prenatal androgens.
These species tend to be highly competitive and promiscuous, which suggests that exposure to a lot of androgens before birth could be linked to the expression of this behavior.
Other species, such as gibbons and many New World species, have digit ratios that suggest low levels of prenatal androgen exposure. These species were monogamous and less competitive than Old World monkeys.
The results show that Great Apes, such as orangutans and chimpanzees, expressed a different finger ratio.
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Lower androgen levels could help explain why Great Apes show high levels of male cooperation and tolerance.
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"Humans are unique in that they live in large multi-male, multi-female groups, but maintain strong bonds and show high levels of group cooperation in both males and females. In most other species males are competitive rather than co-operative. Research from finger ratios may help us understand more clearly the development of human sociality and its evolutionary origins," said Dr Susanne Shultz at the University of Oxford.
Source-ANI
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