- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
Take your pick: Aye-aye joins ranks of snot-eaters
When scientists caught the aye-aye on video using its strangely thin, eight-centimetre-long middle finger to deeply pick its nose, it pointed towards a larger mystery: why exactly do some animals eat their own snot?
The footage resulted in research which names the aye-aye, a peculiar nocturnal lemur with big ears found only in Madagascar, as the 12th primate who picks their nose.
It joins an illustrious group that includes gorillas, chimpanzees, macaques -- and of course humans.
Anne-Claire Fabre, an assistant professor at Switzerland's University of Bern and lead author of a study published in the journal Zoology this week, told AFP that the researchers stumbled on the discovery "by chance".
She said they was "surprised" by the behaviour of a female aye-aye named Kali, who was being filmed at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina in 2015.
In the video, "the aye-aye inserts the entire length of its extra-long, skinny and highly mobile middle finger into the nasal passages and then licks the nasal mucus collected", the peer-reviewed study said.
"This video brings the number of species known to pick their nose to twelve," it said, adding that they all have "fine manipulative skills".
The middle fingers of aye-ayes are not only long and thin, but also have a unique ball and socket joint they use to knock on wood to locate grubs.
After seeing the video, "the first thing I was wondered is where this finger is going", said Fabre, who is also an associate scientist at London's Natural History Museum.
So the researchers used a CT scan of an aye-aye's skull to reconstruct the finger's journey, finding it probably went down the throat.
"There is no other possibility. Otherwise it would have gone into the brain and then they die," Fabre said.
The researchers compared the finger's probing to a very deep Covid test.
- 'Gross' -
But finding out exactly why aye-ayes -- or other primates -- pick their noses proved a more difficult task.
The scientists reviewed the existing literature and found that "most of it was jokes", Fabre said.
They did find one study which suggested that nose-picking could spread bacteria in a harmful manner.
Another said that eating snot could stop bacteria from sticking to teeth, so it might be good for oral health.
So why is there so little research on nose picking?
"I think it's just something that people didn't think about because it's considered to be gross," Fabre said. However she added that lots of research has been done about coprophagia -- animals eating their own excrement -- which could also be considered gross.
The aye-aye, the world's largest nocturnal primate, is highly endangered -- in part because it is seen as a bad omen in its native Madagascar, she said.
X.Cheung--CPN