Although the phenomenon of termite fishing by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) has historical and theoretical importance for primatology, we still have a limited understanding of how chimpanzees accomplish this activity, and in particular, about details of skilled actions and the nature of individual variation in fishing techniques. We examined movements, hand positions, grips, and other details from remote video footage of seven adult and subadult female chimpanzees using plant probes to extract Macrotermes muelleri termites from epigeal nests. Six chimpanzees used exclusively one hand (left or right) to grip the probe during termite fishing. All chimpanzees used the same repertoire of actions to insert, adjust, and withdraw the probe but differed in the frequency of use of particular actions. Chimpanzees have been described as eating termites in two ways—directly from the probe or by sweeping them from the probe with one hand. We describe a third technique: sliding the probe between the digits of one stationary hand as the probe is extracted from the nest. The sliding technique requires complementary bimanual coordination (extracting with one hand and grasping lightly with the other, at the same time). We highlight the importance of actions with two hands—one gripping, one assisting—in termite fishing and discuss how probing techniques are correlated with performance. Additional research on digital function and on environmental, organismic, and task constraints will further reveal manual dexterity in termite fishing.

中文翻译：

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刚果共和国瓜乌鲁戈三角地区黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes troglodytes）白蚁捕捞中的敏捷性和技巧

尽管黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes）捕捞白蚁的现象在灵长类动物学上具有历史和理论重要性，但我们对黑猩猩如何完成这项活动，特别是关于熟练的操作细节和个体捕捞变化的性质的了解仍然有限技术。我们使用植物探针从七只成年和成年雌性黑猩猩的远程录像中检查了动作，手的位置，握力和其他细节，使用植物探针提取了大白蚁epi巢中的白蚁。六只黑猩猩在白蚁捕捞期间仅用一只手（左或右）抓住探针。所有黑猩猩都使用相同的动作库来插入，调整和拔出探针，但是使用特定动作的频率不同。黑猩猩被描述为以两种方式进食白蚁，一种是直接从探针上进食，另一种是用一只手将其从探针上清除。我们描述了第三种技术：当从巢中提取探针时，使探针在一只静止的手的手指之间滑动。滑动技术需要互补的双手协调（用一只手拔出，同时用另一只手轻抓）。我们强调两只手采取行动的重要性-一只手抓地力，一种协助-白蚁捕鱼，并讨论探测技术与性能之间的关系。有关数字功能以及环境，生物和任务限制的其他研究将进一步揭示白蚁捕捞中的手动灵活性。