By Elizabeth PennisiRing-tailed lemurs have a peculiar habit of shaking their tails at potential rivals. New research shows that during the breeding season, a male’s trembling tail may instead be whisking sexy odors toward potential mates.
The work is still preliminary, but chemical analyses have revealed the odor is a mixture of three chemicals that seem to pique a female’s interest.The new work “calls attention to the often underappreciated fact” that odors play an important role in primate societies, says Peter Kappeler, a primatologist at the University of Göttingen.Insects often use behavior-altering odors called pheromones to attract mates.