Great apes may have been laughing with a similar rhythm to modern humans for at least 15 million years, a University of Warwick study reveals. The finding offers unexpected clues to how human speech evolved.

A study of 140 laughter sequences found the same rhythmic timing pattern in humans, chimps, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans.

The rhythmic patterns of laughter found in apes and humans reveal that complex primate vocal control might have started evolving 15 million years ago.