African elephants call each other by unique names, new study shows

Washington Post

Elephants call each other by name, study suggests

Raw Story

Elephants call each other by name, study finds

According to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday,  marmoset monkeys communicate with one another by name, a behavior hitherto observed in only elephants and dolphins, besides human beings.

Independent

A team of scientists from Israel's Hebrew University found marmosets using special vocal calls, or "phee calls," to "label and address specific individuals."

Newsweek

The team paired up 10 marmosets from three families in various combinations and used artificial intelligence to sort over 50K calls based on acoustic differences.

New Scientist

The study discovered that the marmosets exchanged calls, took turns to converse, and could differentiate between calls directed towards them and others.

Haaretz.com

Study co-author David Omer said that "other non-human primates with the similar social structure of a monogamous family group may have developed similar behaviours."

Guardian

Omer noted that naming each other needs sophisticated cognitive abilities, suggesting these behaviors are similar to those that enabled "our prelinguistic humanoid ancestors" to transition from "nonlinguistic communication to language."

NBC #1

Washington Post #1

Raw Story #1

Researchers have found that marmoset monkeys "vocally name" each other, a behavior hitherto observed in only elephants and dolphins, besides human beings.

Independent #2707

A study by scientists of Israel's Hebrew University found marmosets reportedly using special vocal calls — or "phee calls" — to identify each other.

Newsweek #4065

Ten marmosets from three families were paired up in various combinations to arrive at the conclusion, after sorting over 50K calls based on acoustic differences.

New Scientist #4094

The study published in Science on Thursday found that the primates also take turns to converse, a trait thought to be unique to human beings.

Haaretz.com #

Study co-author David Omer said other non-human primates "with the similar social structure of a monogamous family group" may also show such behaviors.

Guardian #3914

The neuroscientist said naming each other shows sophisticated cognitive abilities as one needs to map the social environment and distinguish between individuals.

Washington Post #4554

The discovery various animal species addressing each other specifically challenges the notion that this is a uniquely human trait. This ability serves practical and emotional purposes across species, besides allowing individuals to track and address social companions. It also indicates a sense of self and individuality.

Atlantic

Atlantic #7421

Elephants Are Doing Something Deeply Human

Anthropomorphism can lead to misunderstandings of animal behavior and inappropriate interactions with wildlife. While certain species, like primates and elephants, show behaviors that appear more "human-like," it's crucial to recognize that animal cognition and emotions may be fundamentally different from our own.

Guardian #

Anthropomorphism: how much humans and animals share is still contested

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Study: Marmosets Name Each Other

Research

Biology & biochemistry

Science & technology

This discovery suggests there were precursors for language development in non-human primates. It also challenged the notion that communicating with each other by name is a uniquely human trait. This ability serves practical and emotional purposes across species besides allowing individuals to track and address social companions.

There's a 50% chance that the first cloned human will be born by 2041, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Study: Marmosets Call Each Other By Names

Study: Marmosets NameCall Each Other By Names

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