This great news was released by Japanese researchers at the University of Japan's University of Osaka City and published in the magazine PLoS Biologyquienes. In the study, eighteen fish of the species Labroides dimidiatus were placed in front of a mirror to see if they were able to recognize themselves in the reflection.
At first, most of them showed aggressive behavior and tried to defend their territory from what they thought was another individual, but when they got used to looking in the mirror, they started to act in a completely different way.
They did not attack the image returned by the mirror, but made particular movements that showed most of their body reflected in it, which might suggest that perhaps these beloved sea animals might have a degree of self-awareness.
According to the scientists, this is "a breakthrough for studies not only in animal cognition, but also in psychology, which considers that only humans have self-awareness," they stress. The final result was 94 % positive.
They add that "We still have a lot of work to do, especially quantitatively, to prove that fish (like other animals) have the capacity for self-recognition," concludes Masanori Kohda, a professor at Osaka City University's school of science.
As an organization "AQUAMUNDO" that is always taking care of these precious animals, we think this study is a great advance. We have always believed that fish are wonderful animals and that even without explicitly showing it, they recognize who feeds and takes care of them day by day, if they are in an aquarium.
