Geissmann, T., 1983: Female capped gibbon (Hylobates pileatus Gray 1891) sings male song. Journal of Human Evolution 12: 667-671.

Female capped gibbon (Hylobates pileatus Gray 1891) sings male song

T. Geissmann
Anthropological Institute, University Zürich-Irchel

Key words: Gibbons; Hylobates pileatus; duetting; song-splitting.

Abstract: Most gibbons are known as sexually "divocal", i.e. males and females have their own vocal repertoires. For the first time a case is reported where a female capped gibbon (Hylobates pileatus) - upon union with a new, timid male - uttered the full typically male vocalizations, although she later again produced the female "great call". This observation bears on questions of the phylogeny of duetting and on functional differences between male and female song parts.