It’s a classic nightmare. It’s a classic nightmare. You probably shouldn’tOnly to be caught on hidden cameras, deep into your own nostrils.
The nose-picker in this instance is an ayeaye.Daubentonia madagascariensis), a primate so adept at discretion that this is the first time we’ve seen it digging for nasal nuggets and feasting on the fruits of its labor.
Moreover, it uses its preternaturally long middle finger for the task – reaching, scientists believe, so far back that it extends into the animal’s pharynx.
The aye-aye is one of 12 primates that pick their noses. All of them are skilled with their hands (some of which). even use sticks!).
Comparative studies of these animals may help us understand why we booger-eat, or mucophagyIt is a thing.
The ayeaye has built in sticks, which is unlike some primates. The aye-aye’s middle finger is long, thin and hooked. It is an important tool in finding food. (Skip to 2.19).
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The animal taps trees with its finger to locate hollows. Next, it extracts insects from those hollows using the same finger. Crows may sometimes use sticksFor the same purpose.
It shouldn’t surprise that this shy, nocturnal creature uses its handy finger to booger-mine.
Anne-Claire Fabre, a biologist at the University of Bern and the Natural History Museum in Britain, first noticed the behavior at the Duke Lemur Center research center.
“It was impossible not notice this aye–aye picking at its nose.” She said. “This was not a one-off behaviour, it was an ongoing behavior. The animal was engaged in the act of inserting its long finger into its nose. After that, it licked its finger clean to collect whatever it had found.
Researchers CT-scanned the head, hand and neck of an aye aye specimen. These scans were used to reconstruct the depth at which the finger (8.3 cm) reached when it was almost fully inserted into a nostril.
These reconstructions proved that the finger can reach into the throat of the Aye-Aye.
The reason is a mystery and there is no scientific consensus. Although it is possible that the mucus helps to clear the nose, it would be a waste of time to eat it, particularly if you have a tool to do so.
One studyThe crunchy texture and salty taste of boogers are both delicious. Some claim that eating boogers can boost your immune system and prevent bacteria from sticking on teeth.
“There is very limited evidence to support why we (and other animals) pick our noses,” Fabre explains.
“Nearly all of the papers you can find were jokes. There are some serious studies in psychology, but not enough in biology. One study found that picking your nose can spread bacteria like Staphylococcus. Another showed that people who eat their own snot have fewer cavities.
The study by the team found that nose-picking is most prevalent in primates who have fine motor skills.
This isn’t clear. It could simply be because tool-using primates tend to be the most studied. We have also seen them using their tools. It could be that these animals possess the specialized anatomy to allow it.
According to researchers, it is a behavior that merits further investigation.
“Future studies should examine possible roles this behavior could play in society beyond being viewed as a negative habit among humans.” They write in their paper.
“Comparative research reviewing nose picking, mucophagy, across additional primate taxa, or in vertebrates in general are likely provide more insight into its evolution, origin, and function and might offer interesting medical perspectives.”
The publication of the research was published in Journal of Zoology.
