Even though they don’t have cerebral cortexes like humans, cichlids and stingrays can perform simple addition and subtraction, according to researchers from the University of Bonn.
What to know:
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Cichlids (fish of the family Cichlidae) and stingrays can perform simple addition and subtraction in the number range of 1 to 5.
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Using geometric shapes and blue and yellow colors, researchers were able to determine that cichlids and stingrays can detect small quantities precisely and can be trained to add and subtract.
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The experiments required the fish to maintain a working memory of the pictures and numbers in tests that require complex thinking skills.
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Fish don’t have a neocortex, which is part of the cerebral cortex and is responsible for complex cognitive tasks in mammals.
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Neither cichlids nor stingrays are known to have any real need for good numerical abilities in the wild.
This is a summary of the article, “Study Shows: Fish Can Calculate,” published by Science Daily on April 1, 2022. The full article can be found on sciencedaily.com.
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