ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2018
Behaviour of nonhuman primate mothers toward their dead infants: uncovering mechanisms.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 34 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- Post-mortem infant-directed behaviours in wild Guinea baboons.Primates; journal of primatology · 2026Article
- A lethal incident during an intergroup encounter in bonobos.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Responses to dying and dead adult companions in a free-ranging, provisioned group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata).Primates; journal of primatology · 2025Article
- Camera Traps Document Infant Corpse Carrying Behaviour in Multiple Unhabituated Chimpanzee Populations.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Necrophilic behaviour in wild stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides).Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Life and death of a disabled wild capuchin monkey infant.Primates; journal of primatology · 2023Article
- Reactions to a dead adult female in Japanese macaques at Arashiyama: Why did a non-affiliated female groom the corpse?Primates; journal of primatology · 2023Article
- Dead-infant carrying by chimpanzee mothers in the Budongo Forest.Primates; journal of primatology · 2022Article
- Viewing the rare through public lenses: insights into dead calf carrying and other thanatological responses in Asian elephants using YouTube videos.Royal Society open science · 2022Article
- Maternal caretaking behavior towards a dead juvenile in a wild, multi-level primate society.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Staring death in the face: chimpanzees' attention towards conspecific skulls and the implications of a face module guiding their behaviour.Royal Society open science · 2022Article
- Neurobiology of Loneliness, Isolation, and Loss: Integrating Human and Animal Perspectives.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Review
- The evolution of the human healthcare system and implications for understanding our responses to COVID-19.Evolution, medicine, and public health · 2022Review
- Why do some primate mothers carry their infant's corpse? A cross-species comparative study.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Article
- Reactions to infant death by wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: prolonged carrying, non-mother carrying, and partial maternal cannibalism.Primates; journal of primatology · 2020Article
- Callitrichid responses to dead and dying infants: the effects of paternal bonding and cause of death.Primates; journal of primatology · 2020Review
- Why chimpanzees carry dead infants: an empirical assessment of existing hypotheses.Royal Society open science · 2020Article
- Brain activity underlying American crow processing of encounters with dead conspecifics.Behavioural brain research · 2020Article
- Baboon thanatology: responses of filial and non-filial group members to infants' corpses.Royal Society open science · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In comparative thanatology, most reports for nonhuman mammals concern mothers' behavioural responses to their dead offspring: most prominently, dead-infant carrying (sometimes of extended duration); but also inspection, proximity, maternal care such as grooming, protective behaviours and filial cannibalism. Documented across many primate species, these behaviours remain poorly understood in all. The literature is dominated by relatively brief qualitative descriptions of isolated anecdotal cases in apes and monkeys. We argue for quantitative coding in case reports, alongside analyses of longitudinal records of such events to allow objective evaluation of competing theories, and systematic comparisons within and across species and populations. Obtaining necessary datasets depends on raised awareness in researchers of the importance of recording occurrences and knowledge of pertinent data to collect. We review proposed explanatory hypotheses and outline data needed to test each empirically. To determine factors influencing infant-corpse carriage, we suggest analyses of deaths resulting in 'carry' versus 'no carry'. For individual cases, we highlight behavioural variables to code and the need for hormonal samples. We discuss mothers' stress and welfare in relation to infant death, continued transportation and premature removal of the corpse. Elucidating underlying proximate and ultimate causes is important for understanding phylogeny of maternal responses to infant death.This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary thanatology: impacts of the dead on the living in humans and other animals'.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.