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Flexible branches in the primate family tree?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2025

Catherine Hobaiter Open the ORCID record for Catherine Hobaiter [Opens in a new window]  and
Nathaniel J. Dominy Open the ORCID record for Nathaniel J. Dominy [Opens in a new window]
Catherine Hobaiter*
Affiliation:
Wild Minds Lab, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK clh42@st-andrews.ac.uk
Nathaniel J. Dominy
Affiliation:
Departments of Anthropology and Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA nathaniel.j.dominy@dartmouth.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Primate species deploy a suite of behavioural and cognitive adaptations to offset the costs of group-living. Dunbar uses species-level comparisons to posit a series of cumulative steps that describe large-scale phylogenetic patterns in the evolution of sociality. Here, we highlight the value of population-level variation within species for empirically testing the predicted socio-ecological correlations that underpin Dunbar’s hypothesis.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 48 , 2025 , e169
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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