In one experiment, a blue-banded cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) observed itself in the mirror and analyzed its body size before deciding whether to attack other fish that were slightly larger or smaller than itself, researchers point out in a study published in Scientific Reports last Tuesday (11).
THE work has shown, for the first time, a non-human animal that has demonstrated the possession of some mental states (such as mental body image, patterns, intentions, goals), which are elements of self-awareness. The research was led by researchers from the Graduate School of Science at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan.
Last year, the team reported that cleaner wrasse were able to identify themselves in photographs of themselves, based on their faces and through self-recognition in mirrors. In the recent experiment, the cleaner wrasse’s behavior of looking in a mirror in a tank when needed suggested the possibility that the fish were checking their own body size against that of other fish and predicting the outcome of fights.
“The findings that fish can use mirrors as a tool may help clarify the similarities between human and non-human animal self-awareness and provide important clues to elucidate how self-awareness evolved,” says Taiga Kobayashi, an OMU graduate student and study leader, in press release.
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This content was originally published in Pisces look in the mirror to decide if they can win a fight on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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