lpetrich
Contributor
Most of us, I'm sure, take it for granted that we can recognize ourselves in mirrors. We acquire this ability at around 18 - 24 months and we keep that ability for the rest of our lives, except as a consequence of conditions like Alzheimer's disease.
Rouge test (self-recognition test) - YouTube -- for little children
But to any other species do so? A good test for doing so is the
Mirror test, and only a few species have passed it.
Mirror Self-Recognition in Asian Elephants! - YouTube notes stages in self-recognition:
Self recognition and the rise of what most refer to as personhood. - YouTube -- shows some chimpanzee self-recognition
Orangutan recognises himself! | Extraordinary Animals | Earth - YouTube -- as it says
Animals in Mirrors Hilarious Reactions - YouTube -- at a mirror set up in a jungle in Gabon, Africa. Like a male gorilla trying to intimidate his reflection in that mirror.
Animals Front of Mirror | Complication - YouTube, Animals react to their reflections - Funny animals vs mirrors compilation - YouTube -- lots of pets, mostly dogs and cats, and also a duck, a lizard, and some others. Some of the animals confront the animal in the mirror, while others ignore that animal.
A Lion's Reaction To A Mirror! - YouTube -- they seem rather curious about the lions in the mirrors, but that's about it.
CNN: Dolphins see themselves in mirror - YouTube -- and act as if they recognize themselves.
Orca and mirror - YouTube -- the animal seems interested, but the mirror is rather small.
So only a few species show any evidence of recognizing themselves in mirrors. Phylogenetic distribution:
Amniota:
Rouge test (self-recognition test) - YouTube -- for little children
But to any other species do so? A good test for doing so is the
Mirror test, and only a few species have passed it.Mirror Self-Recognition in Asian Elephants! - YouTube notes stages in self-recognition:
- Social behavior -- treating one's reflection as another member of one's species
- Test behavior -- why is one's reflection doing what one is doing?
- Self-Directed Behavior -- at parts of one's body that one cannot see without a mirror
- The Mark Test -- how does one react to a mark that some researcher has put on a mirror-only-visible part of one's body?
Self recognition and the rise of what most refer to as personhood. - YouTube -- shows some chimpanzee self-recognition
Orangutan recognises himself! | Extraordinary Animals | Earth - YouTube -- as it says
Animals in Mirrors Hilarious Reactions - YouTube -- at a mirror set up in a jungle in Gabon, Africa. Like a male gorilla trying to intimidate his reflection in that mirror.
Animals Front of Mirror | Complication - YouTube, Animals react to their reflections - Funny animals vs mirrors compilation - YouTube -- lots of pets, mostly dogs and cats, and also a duck, a lizard, and some others. Some of the animals confront the animal in the mirror, while others ignore that animal.
A Lion's Reaction To A Mirror! - YouTube -- they seem rather curious about the lions in the mirrors, but that's about it.
CNN: Dolphins see themselves in mirror - YouTube -- and act as if they recognize themselves.
Orca and mirror - YouTube -- the animal seems interested, but the mirror is rather small.
So only a few species show any evidence of recognizing themselves in mirrors. Phylogenetic distribution:
Amniota:
- Synapsida - Mammalia - Eutheria:
- Euarchontoglires - Primates - Simiiformes - Catarrhini - Hominidae:
- Homo sapiens, our species, the most successful at self-recognizing
- Pan spp., the chimp species
- Pongo spp., the orangutan species
- (possibly also Gorilla gorilla, the gorilla)
- Laurasiatheria - Cetartiodactyla - Cetacea - Delphinidae - Tursiops truncatus, the bottlenose dolphin (possibly also Orcinus orca, the "killer whale")
- Afrotheria - Proboscidea - Elephantidae - Elephas maximus, the Asian elephant
- Euarchontoglires - Primates - Simiiformes - Catarrhini - Hominidae:
- Sauropsida - Archosauria - Dinosauria - Aves - Passeriformes - Corvidae - Pica pica, the European magpie