Abstract
Since the pioneering work in chimpanzees, mirror self-recognition (MSR), the ability to recognise oneself in a mirror, has been reported in great apes, Asian elephants, dolphins, and some social birds using the mark test, in which animals that possess MSR touch an imperceptible mark on their own bodies only when a mirror is present. However, giant pandas, which are solitary, failed to pass the mark test, suggesting that MSR evolved solely in highly social animals. In contrast to the increasing evidence of MSR in mammals and birds, little is known about MSR in fish. A Tanganyikan cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher, is a good candidate for study because these fish live in highly social groups and recognise conspecifics about as rapidly as primates. We examined their responses to a mirror image and tested whether N. pulcher could pass the mark test. When the mirror was first exposed, they stayed in front of the mirror and exhibited aggressive behaviour towards the mirror image. These social behaviours suggested that the focal fish perceived the mirror image as an unfamiliar conspecific. The social responses decreased over the following days, as has generally been the case in animals with MSR. After mark injection, we found no increase in scraping behaviour or prolonged observation of the marked side. These results show a lack of contingency checking and mark-directed behaviours, meaning that N. pulcher failed to pass the mark test and did not recognise their self-image in the mirror.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the members of the Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Osaka City University, for their fruitful discussion regarding this work. This study was financially supported by KAKENHI (Nos. 16H05773 and 17K18712) to MK and (No. H16J09486) to TH from JSPS. The English in this document has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English. For a certificate, see: http://www.textcheck.com/certificate/index/R1wM76.
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All experiments adhered to the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviours Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research (ASAB/ABS 2014) and were conducted in compliance with the Regulations on Animal Experiments of Osaka City University and the Japan Ethological Society. No permits from the Japanese government were needed for experiments involving N. pulcher.
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Hotta, T., Komiyama, S. & Kohda, M. A social cichlid fish failed to pass the mark test. Anim Cogn 21, 127–136 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-017-1146-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-017-1146-y