A comparison of performance of cebus and rhesus monkeys on a battery of behavioral tests

Cebus monkeys (C. apella, C. albifrons, andC. capuchin) and rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were compared with respect to their performance on a battery of 6 tests. The battery consisted of tests of delayed response, oddity problems, matching problems, contingent response and delayed alternation. A suggestive trend was noted, with cebus performing relatively better on long delay problems and the oddity problem, and rhesus performing relatively better on the delayed alternation, matching and contingency problems. However, no statistically significant differences were found between the two groups on any of the tests. It is suggested that a strict hierarchial arrangement of species on test performance, corresponding to phylogenetic classification may be a fantasy.Supported in part by: Grant No. N.S. 6552-04, from The National Institutes of Health.