[Taxacom] First non-human involuntary facial mimicry

[John Grehan]

The recent paper by Ross et al (2007) documents rapid facial mimicry in
orangutan play. They state that this is the first evidence of rapid
involuntary facial mimicry in non-human mammals. It would be somewhat
surprising, given all the concentrated behavioral attention given to
chimpanzees, that this behavior has not been recorded for the latter. It
remains to be seen whether the orangutan behavior is another uniquely
shared character with humans, or a character shared with other primates
as well.

Ross et al 2007. Rapid facial mimicry in orangutan play. Biology Letters
on line.

John Grehan