Mirror self-recognition in the bottlenose dolphin: A case of cognitive convergence
- Diana Reiss*,†,‡,§ and
- Lori Marino‡,¶
- *Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences, New York Aquarium, Wildlife Conservation Society, Brooklyn, NY 11224; †Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027; and ¶Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program, The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, and The Living Links Center for the Advanced Study of Ape and Human Evolution, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322
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Communicated by Donald R. Griffin, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY (received for review October 3, 2000)
Abstract
The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror is an exceedingly rare capacity in the animal kingdom. To date, only humans and great apes have shown convincing evidence of mirror self-recognition. Two dolphins were exposed to reflective surfaces, and both demonstrated responses consistent with the use of the mirror to investigate marked parts of the body. This ability to use a mirror to inspect parts of the body is a striking example of evolutionary convergence with great apes and humans.
