Levka"Quick Take
• Cleaner wrasses used mirrors to locate and scrape marks placed on their bodies.
• Experiments suggest fish can link reflections with sensations on their own bodies.
• Findings challenge assumptions that only large-brained animals recognize themselves in mirrors.
• Research raises questions about animal intelligence and how scientists interpret mirror tests.
For decades, scientists used a mirror experiment to explore whether animals could recognize themselves. In that test, researchers placed a mark on an animal’s body where it could only be seen in a mirror. If the animal used the mirror to investigate the mark on its own body, scientists interpreted the behavior as self-recognition. Only a small group of species seemed to pass the test. These included great apes, dolphins, elephants, and a few birds.
New experiments with a small reef fish have complicated that picture. Researchers studying the bluestreak cleaner wrasse discovered that this species can use a mirror to locate marks placed on its own body. The fish scraped at the marked spot when it saw the reflection. When the mirror was removed, the scraping stopped. These observations suggest the fish used the mirror to guide its actions.
The results have sparked debate among scientists. Some believe the fish demonstrates a form of self-related awareness. Others think the fish simply learned to associate the reflection with sensations on its skin. Either way, the findings are prompting researchers to reconsider how the mirror test should be interpreted."
