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The ring-tailed lemur has a complex array of distinct vocalizations used to maintain group cohesion during foraging and alert group members to the presence of a predator. The tables below detail calls documented in the wild and studied at the Duke Lemur Center.[1]
Adult Affiliative Vocalizations
Call
Vocalizers
Inferred Function
Moan
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
All except infants <14 weeks
Promotes group cohesion in low-to-moderate arousal contexts
Early-High Wail
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
All except infants <6–8 weeks
Promotes group cohesion; indicates moderate-to-high level arousal level of caller
Late-High Wail
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
Non-infant females (typically), males (rarely)
May promote group cohesion under conditions of extreme arousal
Howl
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
Non-infant males
Male advertisement call; together with female counter-calling, howls advertise the presence and location of the group
Hmm
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
All except infants <5 weeks
Indicates that slow group relocation is imminent and promotes group cohesion, or reflects a caller's desire to maintain conspecific contact
Huh
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
Infants >3 months (most frequent); male juveniles and adolescents; rarely by adults
Similar to hmm, but marks a caller's location more effectively
Purr
sampleⓘ
Adult females (most frequent); both sexes of all age classes
Appears to express contentment; also may communicate nonaggressive intent of an adult during close contact
Chirp
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
sample 4ⓘ
All except infants <3 weeks
Elicits rapid group movement and may promote group cohesion in this context
Adult Agonistic Vocalizations
Call
Vocalizers
Inferred Function
Yip
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
All non-infants, except alpha females
Expresses mild fear and, perhaps, willingness to defer to a dominant
Cackle
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
sample 4ⓘ
sample 5ⓘ
Adults of both sexes
A defensive display that may reflect a willingness to become aggressive if pressed
Squeal
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
Males, during tail waving only
Male "status assertion" vocalization
Twitter
sampleⓘ
All except infants <6 months
Communicates somewhat fearful but nevertheless assertive demeanor
Plosive Bark
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
sample 4ⓘ
Both sexes of all ages classes
High-intensity threat vocalization
Chutter
sampleⓘ
Dominant adults (toward subordinates of all ages)
Low-to-moderate threat vocalization; may encourage subordinates to give way to dominants, thereby reaffirming dyadic dominance relationships.
Alerting & Antipredator Vocalizations
Call
Vocalizers
Inferred Function
Gulp
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
All except infants <14 weeks
Generalized "group alert" vocalization
Rasp
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
sample 4ⓘ
All except infants
Aerial predator alarm call
Shriek, variant 1
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
All except infants
May serve to inform a raptor that it has been seen, and/or may discourage pursuit by intimidation, as well as to broadcast widely that a low-flying raptor has been detected
Shriek, variant 2
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
All except infants
Same as variant 1, except that variant 2 may express the more urgent nature of the aerial predator encounter.
Click
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
All except infants <2 weeks
The click is a low-arousal "location marker" that draws attention to a caller.
Close-Mouth Click Series (CMCS)
sampleⓘ
All except infants <2 months
Moderate-arousal "location marker"
Open-Mouth Click Series (OMCS)
sampleⓘ
All except infants
A "location marker" reserved for a limited number of contexts of very high arousal; also appears to serve as a cue that aids in the synchronization of yaps
Yap
sampleⓘ
All except infants
Carnivore mobbing call
Infant Affiliative Vocalizations
Call
Inferred Function
Infant Contact Call
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
sample 3ⓘ
sample 4ⓘ
Conspecific vocal contact; functions initially to attract the mother and later as a precursor to moans and wails
Infant Trill, variant 1
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
Expresses desire for, and contentment from, conspecific contact
Infant Trill, variant 2
sample 1ⓘ
sample 2ⓘ
May express contentment and/or crossing the sensory threshold from contentment to discomfort
Serves both as an affiliative and distress vocalization in eliciting prompt retrieval by the mother
References
^Macedonia, Joseph M. (1993). "The vocal repertoire of the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta)". Folia Primatologica. 61 (4): 186–217. doi:10.1159/000156749. PMID 7959437.