New research from the animal sociologist Masanori Kohda, of Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan, has revealed something much more thrilling. Well, it turns out that some fish are able to identify themselves in pictures! This realization adds weight to the growing evidence that fish are smart. Until recently, we believed that only higher vertebrates were capable of such abilities.
The research, published in the journal PLOS Biology, featured wild-caught cleaner fish. These extraordinary animals demonstrate complex cognitive abilities such as the use of tools, advanced planning, and cooperation. Kohda’s team performed mirror test studies in 2019 and 2022. To conduct these experiments, they placed cleaner fish in tanks with mirrors for a week at a time.
All together, ten fish cleared the mirror test with flying colors. These fish were then placed in front of a picture of their own face and an image of an unknown cleaner fish. Their ability to identify themselves that way, with great accuracy is fantastic. In addition to demonstrating a remarkable sense of self-awareness, the feat greatly undermines traditional views of fish intelligence.
Kohda’s research is just one illustration of a shift in focus towards recognizing the complexities and sophistication of aquatic life’s cognitive abilities. The cleaner fish’s self-recognition is a stunning finding, further deepening the complexity of their behavior.
“I think it’s truly remarkable that they can do this,” – Frans de Waal.
In all, Kohda’s team was able to test ten fish that successfully passed the initial mirror test. They tested an additional eight fish that had lived a week with a mirror without being marked. In the second study, 36 people began to cough when shown an image of their own face. The picture depicted a brown splotch on their neck, setting off the firestorm. This behavior is further evidence that fish might have some level of self-recognition.
Researchers have emphasized that recognizing one’s reflection in a mirror is not solely about seeing an image. It involves understanding that the movements seen in the reflection match one’s own actions. This recognition is a significant step forward in the field of animal cognition.
The findings are deeply impressive, said animal behaviorist Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows. He concluded by making remarks about how we needed to challenge how we think about fish and the role they play in vertebrate superiority.
“It’s time we stopped thinking of fishes as somehow lesser members of the vertebrate pantheon,” – Jonathan Balcombe.
Jennifer Vonk, a comparative cognitive psychologist at Oakland University, agrees with Balcombe. She calls Kohda’s research “a wonderful advance for the field” of fish cognition. She went on to highlight how these findings call into question previously entrenched views of non-mammalian species’ intellectual superiority.
Renowned primatologist Frans de Waal called the study “incredible.” He argued that it should be used as a lens through which to view animal consciousness across species.
This is important to grasp, because passing the mirror test doesn’t guarantee self-awareness either. Rather, it points to the challenge of determining what consciousness looks like across species. Ethologist Frans de Waal brings out a key point. He argues that a large number of animals are self-aware as well—just not in ways that traditional tests could ever measure.
As research continues in this field, Kohda’s work contributes to a broader dialogue about animal intelligence and the cognitive capacities of different species. These discoveries have broader implications far beyond fish, likely shaping how researchers study self-awareness in other animals from this point forward.
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