Abstract
In a captive group of subjects, we tested the claim (Jacobus and Loy, 1981) that patas monkeys possess a “grimace and gecker” display that functions as a signal of submission/appeasement. The results show the grimace and gecker to be an ineffective preventive both for supplantation and for the continuation of aggression by dominant animals, which suggests that it is not an important display for patas monkeys. Without the grimace and gecker, it appears that patas monkeys lack “formal dominance.” Therefore, we investigated the effects of such a deficency via interspecific comparisons. They suggest that patas monkeys do not differ from cercopithecine species that possess formal dominance with regard to frequency of fighting, intensity of fighting, or rates of postfight reconciliation. Patas show lower rates of allogrooming and higher fight:groom ratios than formal dominance species do. These results support the view that a lack of formal dominance is likely to be correlated with reduced social cohesion.
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Loy, J., Argo, B., Nestell, GL. et al. A reanalysis of patas monkeys' “grimace and gecker” display and a discussion of their lack of formal dominance. International Journal of Primatology 14, 879–893 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02220257
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02220257