Wild orangutans can simultaneously use two independent vocal sound sources similarly to songbirds and human beatboxers.

ABSTRACT: Speech is among the most complex motoric tasks humans ever perform. Songbirds match this achievement during song production through the precise and simultaneous motor control of two sound sources in the syrinx. Integrated and intricate motor control has made songbirds comparative models par excellence for the evolution of speech, however, phylogenetic distance with humans prevents an improved understanding of the precursors that, within the human lineage, drove the emergence of advanced vocal motor control and speech. Here, we report two types of biphonic call combination in wild orangutans that articulatorily resemble human beatboxing and that result from the simultaneous exercise of two vocal sound sources: one unvoiced source achieved through articulatory maneuvering of the lips, tongue

SUBMITTER: Lameira AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10299071 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature