A small tropical reef fish was able to recognize itself in a mirror, scientists said on Feb. 7 in a finding that raises provocative questions about assessing self-awareness and cognitive abilities in animals. The study involved experiments in which the fish species Labroides dimidiatus, called the bluestreak cleaner wrasse, was given a mirror self-recognition test, a technique developed in 1970 for gauging animal self-awareness. When a transparent, rather than brown, mark was applied, the fish never tried to remove it. Jordan, however, questioned whether the test represents a reliable measure of animal cognitive abilities. “I don’t claim that fish lack self-awareness, but rather that the minimal required explanation for the behaviors we observe in the mirror test does not require invocation of self-awareness, self-consciousness, or theory of mind,” Jordan said.

Source: Taipei Times February 16, 2019 16:02 UTC