One Fish, Two Fish, Tool Use, Blue Fish

[drhoz]

A new addition to a list that includes humans, chimps, gorillas, orangutans, capuchins, New Caledonian crows, sea otters, and the coconut octopus.

While exploring Australia's Great Barrier Reef, professional diver Scott Gardner heard an odd cracking sound and swam over to investigate. What he found was a footlong Blackspot Tuskfish (Choerodon

Comments

[owlsie]

Lol remember when we thought tool use made us unique and special?

Go fish! Smash those clams.

[deborahkla]

We humans are such idiots. Chimps use twigs to root bugs out of trees, and otters lie on their backs with stones on their bellies to smash shellfish open.

[thunderbiscuit]

Oh. Well it's over for us. The dolphins finally gave up their secrets, and we'll be done for within the next couple of hundred years.

[china_kitty]

Smash that clam!

Thanks for showing us the article; I would never have thought to see a fish use a tool IRL.

[rickvs]

Tuskfish: "My way's not very sportsmanlike..."

[fiercereaper]

I don't think that officially counts as tool use with the way I've heard it defined. If the fish picked up the rock and banged it on the clam, it would.

[happycycling]

exactly what i was thinking. i always see gulls dropping bivalves onto the ground to break them open, but i didn't think that constituted tool use.

[drhoz]

on the other hand, the original discovery there could easily have been made by a clumsy gull. How did the fish learn this?

[deborahkla]

Yours is one of the greatest icons I've ever seen. :-D