Meta recognition in fish: Comfirm by using the ability of mirror self-recognition in cleaner wrasse

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K20154
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 90030:Cognitive science-related
• Research Institution: Osaka Metropolitan University (2022-2023); Osaka City University (2020-2021)
• Principal Investigator: SOGAWA Shumpei 大阪公立大学, 大学院理学研究科, 特任研究員 (70854107)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 自己意識 / メタ認知 / ホンソメワケベラ / 鏡像自己認知

Outline of Final Research Achievements

By looking in a mirror, cleaner wrasse can determine its exact body length and use this information to fight against conspecifics, but if it were aware that its memory of its own body length was becoming vague, the longer they don't look in the mirror, the more often they will need to check their body size again. The results of experiments showed that the subjects looked at the mirror more often when they did not look at the mirror for 18 hours than when they did not look at the mirror for 6 hours. This suggests that it is reconfirming its own body size against a model that may be larger than itself. In other words, cleaner wrasse can be aware that its memory of its exact body length as seen in the mirror is vague (meta cognition).

Free Research Field

動物社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

現在、メタ認知のような最高時の自己意識はヒトか大型霊長類にしか備わっていないというのが、自己意識研究の一般的な考え方である。そして、自己意識の進化もその考えを前提に予想されている。しかし、魚類の時点で自己意識の自覚が出来ることが示されれば、今までの前提がすべてひっくり返り、動物行動学の基礎である生得的解発機構や学習理論といったものの見直しも必要になってくる。つまり、少なくとも脊椎動物の祖先である魚類の時点でヒトと同じレベルの自己意識は進化していたということである。この結果は、アニマルウェルフェアや哺乳類の優位性、哲学や宗教の基礎に大きな影響を与えることが期待される。