Bluestreak cleaner wrasses (Labroides dimidiatus) are fundamental in coral ecosystems, as they remove parasites from fishes, keeping them healthy, and according to a recent study, they may be self-aware as these small fishes can recognize theyself in photos and mirror, an ability usually attributed to humans and large mammals. According to researchers, self-awareness may be more widespread among animals than previously thought.
Cleaner fish, likely recognize their own mirror image using a mental image of the self-face comparable to humans. Mirror-naïve fish frequently attacked photographs of both themselves and strangers. In contrast, after passing the mirror test, aggression against their own photograph and composite photographs of own face/stranger body declined, but aggression remained toward unfamiliar and composite photographs of stranger face/own body. These results suggest that cleaner fish with mirror self-recognition ability can recognize their own mirror image based on a mental image of their own face, rather than by comparing body movements in the mirror
Photo: Faces of Cleaner fish, Kohda et al., 2023.
Reference (Open Access) Kohda et al., 2023. Cleaner fish recognize self in a mirror via self-face recognition like humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
