The Orange Dotted Tusk Fish probably won't appear at your local Sears searching for the perfect Craftsman tool box anytime soon. But what University of California Santa Cruz Professor Giacomo Bernardi recently discovered in the South Pacific is definitely fish food for thought.
Bernardi, on a diving expedition to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, observed a Tusk fish hammering a clam against a rock to get out his dinner. And he captured it on video.
The professor, whose specialty is evolutionary biology, says the fish's behavior demonstrates an intelligence not often associated with common fish. He says it shows the ability to "think forward" and a reasoning ability more commonly associated with humans.
Bernardi says it's interesting, but maybe not that surprising. Lower primates and even birds have shown the same abilities. It just took a little bit longer to catch a fish in the act.
