Allocare, predation risk, social structure and natal coat colour in anthropoid primates

Many primate species have a natal coat coloured differently from the coat colour of adults and, in some cases, the natal coat is very different from that of older animals with the infant being conspicuous and/or brightly coloured. This study uses data from 82 anthropoid species to investigate possible correlates of conspicuous natal coat colour (CNC), using comparative, phylogenetically controlled analyses. Five hypotheses were tested using statistical tests on both species data and phylogenetically controlled data. The analyses show some support for the hypothesis that CNCs have evolved to promote allocare but the degree of CNC does not correlate with predation rates, arboreality, or relative testes size. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.