Chimp & See Talk

Chimp stomach size/shape

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    How reliable is the size and shape of a chimp's stomach in the identification process? Particularly with the young ones, we've been using the roundness of the belly as a trait for identifying. But does this change based on meals? Or is it more like or baby fat or genetics, where they may grow out of it in a few months or years, but in the meantime can be used to identify individuals? Thank you!

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  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    Hi @ksigler...

    first of all, sorry for the late answer!!

    Well, personally I don't really think that the size and shape of the stomach should be used for identification, because it depends on the diet, the moment of the digestion, the age, the posture of the animal...
    This feature could potentially be used to complete a general assessment, when you already have strong assumptions about the identification of an individual. But this trait alone shouldn´t be enough to identify an individual.

    I hope I could help 😉

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    No problem, I know you have a lot going on. And that's what I suspected, but wanted to confirm. Thank you!

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