# Ring-tailed lemur vocalizations

The ring-tailed lemur has a complex array of distinct vocalizations used to maintain group cohesion during foraging and alert group members to the presence of a predator. The tables below detail calls documented in the wild and studied at the Duke Lemur Center.
Adult Affiliative Vocalizations :
| Call | Vocalizers | Inferred Function |
| Moan sample 1 sample 2 | All except infants <14 weeks | Promotes group cohesion in low-to-moderate arousal contexts |
| Early-High Wail sample 1 sample 2 | All except infants <6–8 weeks | Promotes group cohesion; indicates moderate-to-high level arousal level of caller |
| Late-High Wail sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 | Non-infant females (typically), males (rarely) | May promote group cohesion under conditions of extreme arousal |
| Howl sample 1 sample 2 | Non-infant males | Male advertisement call; together with female counter-calling, howls advertise the presence and location of the group |
| Hmm sample 1 sample 2 | All except infants <5 weeks | Indicates that slow group relocation is imminent and promotes group cohesion, or reflects a caller's desire to maintain conspecific contact |
| Huh sample 1 sample 2 | Infants >3 months (most frequent); male juveniles and adolescents; rarely by adults | Similar to hmm, but marks a caller's location more effectively |
| Purr sample | Adult females (most frequent); both sexes of all age classes | Appears to express contentment; also may communicate nonaggressive intent of an adult during close contact |
| Chirp sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 sample 4 | All except infants <3 weeks | Elicits rapid group movement and may promote group cohesion in this context |
Adult Agonistic Vocalizations :
| Call | Vocalizers | Inferred Function |
| Yip sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 | All non-infants, except alpha females | Expresses mild fear and, perhaps, willingness to defer to a dominant |
| Cackle sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 sample 4 sample 5 | Adults of both sexes | A defensive display that may reflect a willingness to become aggressive if pressed |
| Squeal sample 1 sample 2 | Males, during tail waving only | Male "status assertion" vocalization |
| Twitter sample | All except infants <6 months | Communicates somewhat fearful but nevertheless assertive demeanor |
| Plosive Bark sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 sample 4 | Both sexes of all ages classes | High-intensity threat vocalization |
| Chutter sample | Dominant adults (toward subordinates of all ages) | Low-to-moderate threat vocalization; may encourage subordinates to give way to dominants, thereby reaffirming dyadic dominance relationships. |
Alerting & Antipredator Vocalizations :
| Call | Vocalizers | Inferred Function |
| Gulp sample 1 sample 2 | All except infants <14 weeks | Generalized "group alert" vocalization |
| Rasp sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 sample 4 | All except infants | Aerial predator alarm call |
| Shriek, variant 1 sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 | All except infants | May serve to inform a raptor that it has been seen, and/or may discourage pursuit by intimidation, as well as to broadcast widely that a low-flying raptor has been detected |
| Shriek, variant 2 sample 1 sample 2 | All except infants | Same as variant 1, except that variant 2 may express the more urgent nature of the aerial predator encounter. |
| Click sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 | All except infants <2 weeks | The click is a low-arousal "location marker" that draws attention to a caller. |
| Close-Mouth Click Series (CMCS) sample | All except infants <2 months | Moderate-arousal "location marker" |
| Open-Mouth Click Series (OMCS) sample | All except infants | A "location marker" reserved for a limited number of contexts of very high arousal; also appears to serve as a cue that aids in the synchronization of yaps |
| Yap sample | All except infants | Carnivore mobbing call |
Infant Affiliative Vocalizations :
| Call | Inferred Function |
| Infant Contact Call sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 sample 4 | Conspecific vocal contact; functions initially to attract the mother and later as a precursor to moans and wails |
| Infant Trill, variant 1 sample 1 sample 2 | Expresses desire for, and contentment from, conspecific contact |
| Infant Trill, variant 2 sample 1 sample 2 | May express contentment and/or crossing the sensory threshold from contentment to discomfort |
Infant Distress Vocalizations :
| Call | Inferred Function |
| Infant Whit, variant 1 sample | Infant distress call; expresses discomfort and/or distress |
| Infant Whit, variant 2 sample 1 sample 2 | Infant high-intensity distress call |
| Infant Yelp sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 | Serves both as an affiliative and distress vocalization in eliciting prompt retrieval by the mother |