On the mirror test and the evolutionary origin of self-awareness in vertebrates.

Self-awareness in animals, typically assessed via mirror self-recognition (MSR) in the mark test, was long thought to require a large brain and complex cognition, with positive results only in great apes, elephants, dolphins, and magpies. But recent evidence that cleaner wrasse, a small-brained fish, exhibit private self-awareness—a mental representation of self—challenges that view. This review argues that many negative MSR results may be false-negatives, and that self-awareness does not require a large brain. The authors propose that self-awareness was already present in the early shared ancestors of modern vertebrates.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Self-awareness in animals is often documented by showing evidence for mirror self-recognition (MSR), which is confirmed by the mirror mark-test. The classic assumption about self-awareness was that it is a complex cognitive process, restricted at best to a few large-brained species. Indeed, early MSR research yielded positive results only in great apes, elephants, dolphins and magpies, while most endotherm species failed. However, recent detailed proof of MSR based on a mental representation of self, i.e. private self-awareness (PrSA), in cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus, a small-brained ectotherm fish, indicates that the origin and cognitive complexity of self-awareness must be reconsidered. Here, we first recapitulate key concepts on the evolution of self-awareness, and then summarize the evidence that cleaner wrasse exhibit PrSA. We propose that the many negative MSR results are potentially false-negatives, and that self-awareness does not require a large brain. We posit a new hypothesis: self-awareness was already present in the early shared ancestors of modern vertebrates.This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary functions of consciousness'.