Gibbon calls 'could shed light on human speech'
The secret communication of gibbons has been interpreted for the first time in a study published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.
The research reveals the likely meaning of a number of distinct gibbon whispers, or βhooβ calls, responding to particular events and types of predator.
Esther Clarke, lead author of the research and a Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at Durham University, said a male and a female will sing together in the morning time - in what can be both a territorial and a sexual duet.
She said the βhoosβ were distinct from each-other in significant ways, to the extent that they may provide clues on the evolution of human speech.
βIt gives us clues to the evolutionary roots of complex communication-like language,β she said.
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