Ear Trumpet

Although it is not entirely clear how the females work out whose genes complement theirs, the researchers believe it might be done through smell. Monkeys know their own body smell, which is partly determined by their genes. They will sniff out the males whose body odour is different giving an indication that their genetic make up is likely to be unlike theirs,mcse 2008 certification say the scientists.In addition to the potential role of smell, the researchers speculate that female mandrills may 'choose' their mates through selective fertilisation. This is where the female mates with a number of males but her body rejects sperm from males with a similar genetic makeup and 'picks' those with genes which complement the female's own.Lead author, Dr Jo Setchell from Durham University's Anthropology Department, said: "This is an important advance in our knowledge of how mate selection works in monkeys. We now need to dig deeper and establish how they do this. I think smell is a strong candidate here.