The brawling Australian yabby will never walk away from a fight, even after a loss.In fact, a new study shows he will immediately take on his conqueror for a rematch and proves he does not forget the face of his foes.
The two-year study by University of Melbourne zoologists of more than 100 pairs of yabbies showed the species Cherax destructor can remember and recognise the faces of individuals, specifically its opponents.
Professor David MacMillan, head of the University's department of Zoology, said this was a remarkable capacity for the invertebrate species of yabbies and freshwater crayfish.
"This is an ability known in humans and some vertebrates but in only a handful of invertebrate species," said Prof MacMillan, who led the research.
In the study, the loser yabbie was isolated after a fight and given the choice for another stoush against its previous opponent or a new crayfish.
The loser yabby moved toward the opponent it recognised rather than the new rival, showing a capability of visual identity rather than just an acute sense of smell.
Prof MacMillon said that the yabbies used highly variable cues such as colour and face width to recognise their foes.
"Careful observation by our team showed that the facial recognition is the important area for recognition of yabbies during and after a fight," Prof MacMillan said.
Prof MacMillan said the new research may lead to bigger things.
Understanding how simple nervous systems recognise features may contribute to developing feature recognition in robots, he said.
The two-year study by University of Melbourne zoologists of more than 100 pairs of yabbies showed the species Cherax destructor can remember and recognise the faces of individuals, specifically its opponents.
Professor David MacMillan, head of the University's department of Zoology, said this was a remarkable capacity for the invertebrate species of yabbies and freshwater crayfish.
"This is an ability known in humans and some vertebrates but in only a handful of invertebrate species," said Prof MacMillan, who led the research.
In the study, the loser yabbie was isolated after a fight and given the choice for another stoush against its previous opponent or a new crayfish.
The loser yabby moved toward the opponent it recognised rather than the new rival, showing a capability of visual identity rather than just an acute sense of smell.
Prof MacMillon said that the yabbies used highly variable cues such as colour and face width to recognise their foes.
"Careful observation by our team showed that the facial recognition is the important area for recognition of yabbies during and after a fight," Prof MacMillan said.
Prof MacMillan said the new research may lead to bigger things.
Understanding how simple nervous systems recognise features may contribute to developing feature recognition in robots, he said.
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