Hand Preferences and Dexterities of Captive Patas Monkeys

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Abstract
Patas monkeys, adapted to ground living in the Arfican savannas, obtain much of their food from grasses, seeds, and other small plant items. Use of therelatively short thumb in relation to fingers of the hand is shown to be very efficient in dexerity tests administered to 8 captive patas, all but 2 of which were wildborn. Hand and eye preferences are also demonstrated in laboratory tests, results being about as consistent as in studied of other species. While the adaptiveness of the precision grip and dexterities of the patas hand is clearly to be seen in the savanna way of life, no such advantage is discernible in preferential use of one hand on simple tests, so that the relative lack of consistency is not unexpected.

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