Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Quantification of Drosophila melanogaster Grooming Behavior for Evaluation of Excessive Grooming Phenotypes
Published on: March 21, 2025
Grooming with a stone in sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys)
1Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, and Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center of Emory University, Field Station, Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Abstract:
"Stone-grooming," or grooming with a stone, has been reported in Macaca fuscata. This report provides a descriptive account of a similar behavior displayed by a female mangabey Cercocebus atys. During a study of embracing behavior in sooty mangabeys, one adult female was observed to groom her infant with a stone. The grooming pattern involved short strokes and/or a circular motion over the area being groomed-the infant's eye region. Stone-grooming appears to be a distinct type of grooming although the function(s) of this behavior remains unclear. The use of a stone in grooming may represent a case of tool use.
Related Concept Videos
Parental Care
Quarrying of Stone
One common method involves using a diamond belt saw to cut large blocks from the quarry face. These blocks can be about 50 feet long and 12 feet high. After the initial vertical cut, drilling is performed at the base of the...
Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores
Mate Choice
Stone Masonry
Types of Selection

