An Age of Magic

A fish with a brain

I’ll bet that all you people who love to go fishing never gave a thought to the fact that your big catch actually thought before he took the bait. Did you? I’ll bet that you never considered that fish had some intellect…ever seen those carp who swim over to you when it is feeding time in the pond? Something makes them do that obviously. But what about a fish that can count!

Scientists have found that that fish actually do possess some intellect…even mathematical skill and that they can even count up to four!  Previously it was thought fish could only tell the difference between big and small shoals.  But research by the University of Padua in Italy showed that male and female mosquitofish - one of the world’s most common freshwater fish - could differentiate up to four, similar maths skills to those observed in apes, monkeys and dolphins.

The study, detailed on the BBC Worldwide’s natural history website www.Loveearth.com, relied on the tendency of female mosquitofish to form shoals up to 20 strong when harassed by a male.  A test gave the fish the option of joining shoals of between two and four fish.  The females consistently went for the biggest shoal, preferring three fish to two and four fish to three.

Though they were unable to count beyond four, other tests showed that the females coul distinguish between larger numbers - but only if the difference was two-to-one.  They could distinguish between a shoal of 16 compared to eight but not between a shoal of 12 compared to eight.

This puts them on a par with the numerical abilities of monkeys and human infants between six and 12 months-old. Personally, I know a few adults who cannot count as well!

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