Fish with "tool"

2011/07/12 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Zoologia

Although we often associate the use of tools with humans, more animals use one or another "tool" to, among other things, obtain food. The image fish (Choerodon schoenleinii) has a clam in the mouth and hits a rock to expand and eat it.

Scott Gardner collected this image. He heard a strange sound as he explored the Australian coral barrier and approached it and lived what happened step by step with his camera. He saw that the fish hit violently with the clam in his mouth against the rock until he opened it and swallowed it.

It is just one more example that tools are used not only by humans, but by many other animals. In fact, some monkeys use rocks as a hammer to cut seeds and fruits; this position between dolphins, elephants and octopus is also known. Among the fish, however, is the first time they observe this attitude.

Image courtesy of: Scott Gardner