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

Abstract

Fur rubbing, i.e. rubbing a substance or an object into the 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 Peruvian Amazon. 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.