Wrasse recognise themselves

For the first time, researchers have established self-awareness in a species of fish. A team led by Masanori Kohda from Osaka City University in Japan confirmed that the bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) can recognise itself in a mirror – a hallmark of cognition.

Kohda and colleagues tested 10 fish in separate tanks and showed that they were all able to recognise a reflected mirror image as themselves.

The research is presented on the pre-print server bioRxiv, awaiting peer review. 

Please login to favourite this article.