If your idea of a hot hookup is tiptoeing down a basement staircase while the guy you just went for drinks with tells you in an urgent, husky whisper, “Shh, my mom’s asleep,” you’re probably a muriqui, a New World species of matriarchal monkeys where mother-son proximity is the biggest turn on there is.
A new, icky study that looked at the genetic data in 67 muriqui fecal samples suggests that the Brazilian monkeys demonstrate a strong mother-son bond — so strong, in fact, that the presence of mother muriquis may help their sons find a mate. Researchers say that the “egalitarian and peaceful” muriquis don’t exhibit some of the more competitive, violent traits evident in male-dominated species because female hegemony ensures that all males have the same access to reproduction. With no need for males to fight for mating dominance, muriquis have avoided the infighting seen in other primate, ahem, societies. Among some of the previous suppositions about muriqui society that this new study confirms is that forging a lifetime bond with his mother increases a male muriqui’s reproductive success.
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