The evolution and biological correlates of hand preferences in anthropoid primates.

The evolution of human right-handedness has been intensively debated for decades. Manual lateralization patterns in non-human primates have the potential to elucidate evolutionary determinants of human handedness, but restricted species samples and inconsistent methodologies have so far limited comparative phylogenetic studies. By combining original data with published literature reports, we assembled data on hand preferences for standardized object manipulation in 1786 individuals from 38 species of anthropoid primates, including monkeys, apes, and humans.

Captive gibbons (Hylobatidae) use different referential cues in an object-choice task: insights into lesser ape cognition and manual laterality.

Background: Utilization of visual referential cues by non-human primates is a subject of constant scientific interest. However, only few primate species, mostly great apes, have been studied thoroughly in that regard, rendering the understanding of phylogenetic influences on the underlying cognitive patterns difficult.

Methods: We tested six species of captive gibbons in an object-choice task ( = 11) for their ability to interpret two different pointing gestures, a combination of body orientation and gaze direction as well as glancing as referential cues.