Experiential influences on the development of huddling preferences and "sibling" recognition in spiny mice.

The role of experience in the development of huddling preferences and sibling recognition by spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) weanlings was investigated. In the 1st experiment, pups separated from their littermates and fostered onto unfamiliar females (and their offspring) on the day of birth, Day 10, or Day 20, subsequently showed preferential huddling with their foster littermates. Huddling by biological siblings was as infrequent as huddling by unrelated, unfamiliar agemates. The 2nd study revealed that the mother may play a role in the ontogeny of sibling recognition, possibly through distinctive labeling of her offspring. We conclude that recognition of littermates develops through experience in the home cage in the absence of an inborn ability to recognize one's biological siblings.