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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 7, 2025

The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System

The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System

Published on: April 14, 2021

Archerfish number discrimination.

Davide Potrich¹, Mirko Zanon¹, Giorgio Vallortigara¹

¹Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.

|January 10, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Archerfish can learn abstract numerical concepts, distinguishing quantities without relying on physical traits. This study shows their ability to process relative numerousness, even with controlled visual cues.

Keywords:

archerfish archerfish (toxotes jaculatrix)neuroscience number number discrimination number sense numerical cognition numerical rule

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Area of Science:

Animal cognition
Comparative psychology
Numerical cognition

Background:

Non-human animals' capacity for abstract numerical understanding is debated.
Previous studies often confounded numerical information with physical stimulus properties.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate abstract non-symbolic numerical discrimination in archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix).
To rigorously control for continuous physical variables that might covary with number.

Main Methods:

Archerfish were trained to discriminate between groups of dots varying in number.
Stimuli were carefully controlled for size, area, perimeter, density, and sparsity.
Generalization tests used novel numerical comparisons to assess performance.

Main Results:

Archerfish successfully discriminated between numerical quantities.
Performance was consistent with abstract numerical processing, not physical attributes.
Continuous physical variables, including spatial frequency, did not influence choices.

Conclusions:

Archerfish demonstrate the ability to use abstract relative numerical information.
This capacity extends to both small and large numerosities.
Findings suggest sophisticated numerical processing in archerfish, independent of confounding physical cues.