An international team of researchers has conducted the first review of nose picking in primates. Results,
Aye-aye - the only modern representativerukonozhek. This is a type of lemur with bizarrely shaped hands, characterized by long thin fingers. One of them is particularly well suited to penetrate the nasopharynx and extract its contents.
Madagascar bat. Image: A.-C. fabre
This finger is so long and flexible that aye-aye can insert it all the way into the nose, scientists say. After extracting the contents, the lemur licks the extracted mucus.
To find out how deep a finger canto penetrate the nasal passage of the arm, the scientists took a CT scan of the head ah-ah, and then created a digital imaging of nose-picking using videotape. The reconstructed image, which combines the parameters of the hand and skull, showed that the animal's finger reaches the mouth.
Computer simulation based on CT of the lemur ah-ah. Image: Renaud Boistel
Researchers do not yet understand whatnose-picking has evolutionary significance, but its spread across species suggests that it must have a meaning. The authors hope that future work will help solve this mystery.
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