Researchers reveal secret of aye-ayes’ long middle finger

The aye-aye has big eyes, bushy tail, and sensitive ears, which may make it seem quirky. Researchers have found that it uses its middle finger to pick its nose and eat mucus.

The ay-ayes are a type of primate that are nocturnal and rare. They are an object of superstition and have a number of strange features.

While it is known the animal uses its finger for tapping on wood to find grubs and fish them out, researchers have discovered it is also used for nose picking.

The authors wrote that the animal inserts its middle finger into the nose and licks the mucus.

According to Dr Anne-Claire Fabre, who co-authored the research, she recorded the behavior of captive aye-ayes at the Duke lemur centre.

Fabre said the middle finger went up the creature's nose. I was wondering where this finger was going when it was nearly 8 cm.

To understand where the middle finger was going, the researchers used scans of the head and hand of the aye-aye. It was found that the digit extended into the head.

Fabre said that nose-picking had not been seen in aye-ayes in the wild.

At least 11 other primate species, including humans, capuchins, macaques, chimpanzees and orangutans, have nose-picking as a trait. According to the researchers, nose-picking was most common in species with good skills.

It's not clear why aye-ayes have a penchant for nose-picking, but the researchers think it's just an act of self-cleaning. The fact that several species ate the mucus suggested there may be more than one explanation.

The team noted that there were studies that suggested the texture, crunchiness, and saltiness of the matter could be appealing, that snot-eating may preventbacteria from sticking to teeth, and that the trait could boost immune responses. They said that there could be a downside to nose picking.

More research was needed on nose-picking, according to Fabre. Sometimes you can discover an application that is not expected when studying this type of behavior.