Wild Bearded Capuchin Monkeys Crack Nuts Dexterously

Abstract

Dexterous tool use has been crucial in the evolution of hominid percussive technology. According to Newell, "dexterity" is the ability of an organism to make goal-directed corrections in movements to optimize effort. Dexterous movements are smooth and effective and accomplish the same goal with less energy than less dexterous movements. Dexterity develops during the later phases of refining a motor skill as the actor becomes sensitive to the outcome of the preceding movement, or to its modulation. In the present study, we examined how wild bearded capuchin monkeys, Sapajus libidinosus, at Fazenda Boa Vista in Piauí, Brazil, that routinely crack palm nuts using stones by placing them on rock outcrops, boulders, and logs (collectively termed anvils) modulate the kinematic parameters of the strikes while processing a single tucum, Astrocaryum campestre nut. The monkeys cracked the nuts by repeatedly striking them with moderate force (i.e., not exceeding a threshold), rather than by striking them more forcefully once, and modulated the kinematic parameters of the current strike on the basis of the condition of the nut following the preceding strike (i.e., the development of any fracture or crack). Repeatedly striking the nuts with moderate force is energetically more efficient than forcefully striking them once and reduces the likelihood of smashing the kernel. Determining the changing energetic constraints of the task and dynamically optimizing movements using those as criteria are dexterous accomplishments. We discuss the implications of the present findings.