Fur rubbing in Plecturocebus cupreus – an incidence of self-medication?

[摘要] Fur rubbing, i.e. rubbing a substance or an object intothe pelage, has been described in numerous Neotropical primate species,including species of titi monkeys, but it seems to be a rare behaviour. Here we describe a fur rubbing event in a wild coppery titi monkey( Plecturocebus cupreus ) with Psychotria sp. (Rubiaceae) leaves observed and videotaped during a field study on vigilance behaviour between September–December 2019 in the PeruvianAmazon. Plants of the genus Psychotria contain a great diversity of secondary metabolites and are often used in traditional medicine. We suggest that the fur rubbing was an act of self-medication. This is the first record of fur rubbing in coppery titi monkeys in almost 4400 h of observation accumulated over more than 20 years.

[学科分类] 计算机科学（综合）