Very few non-human animals can pass the mirror test, an experiment that was designed to demonstrate their self-awareness. Now scientists have discovered that manta rays are the first fish to recognize themselves in front of a mirror.
Very few non-human animals are able to overcome the mirror test, an experiment that was designed to demonstrate their self-awareness. Now scientists have discovered that the mante they are the first fish to be able to recognize their own reflected image.
Most great apes, including orangutans and chimpanzees, can pass the mirror test. Even elephants and some cetaceans, such as killer whales, know how to recognize each other. The list is still short but searches continue. In fact, in a recent experiment, manta rays have shown that they can pass the mirror test.
Does this seem unlikely to you? You may not have known until now that manta rays are the species of fish with the brain bigger. They proved curiosity it's a intelligent behavior. The study was led by Csilla Ari, a University Of South Florida researcher, and was published in the Journal Of Ethology. Among the most intelligent animals in the world we find dolphins, dogs, cats and horses.
Experts have observed that manta rays when swimming in front of the mirror start flapping their fins in an unusual way. This is an uncommon social behavior for manta rays. Therefore it is unlikely that these fish were reacting as if they were in front of another specimen of their own species. According to the researchers, they were recognizing themselves.
In the opinion of Csilla Ari, the behavioral responses of manta rays in front of the mirror indicate a strong ability to self-awareness, above all because similar behaviors have been found in other animals capable of recognizing themselves.
Further studies will be needed to confirm the ability of manta rays to recognize themselves in the mirror and to evaluate their behaviors, but according to the researchers it is already a matter of a very important discovery which demonstrates the need to broaden the range of animals to be assessed with regards to self-awareness.
Marta Albè
Photo source: USF
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