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Octopuses Use Mirrors to Locate Food, Study Shows

6/6/2026

Summary

Octopuses Use Mirrors

Dartmouth researchers showed three California two-spot octopuses used a mirror to find hidden food, succeeding in about 73 % of trials.
The octopuses were trained to link a virtual crab seen only in the mirror with the real crab opposite.
Lead author Mary Kieseler called it the first evidence of invertebrate mirror use and said it shows convergent evolution, while senior author Peter Tse noted it hints at internal spatial maps.

Summary

Octopuses Learn Mirrors

The study shows octopuses can learn to use a mirror by interpreting a projected digital crab.
Researchers say confirming genuine internal spatial maps will require neurophysiological recordings and further behavioral tests.
The paper places octopus mirror use in the self-recognition debate and argues it reflects mediated perception rather than full self-awareness.
By projecting a digital crab, the experiment bypassed the animals’ chemoreceptors to ensure the task measured visual inference alone.

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Octopuses Use Mirrors

Dartmouth researchers showed three California two-spot octopuses used a mirror to find hidden food, succeeding in about 73 % of trials.
The octopuses were trained to link a virtual crab seen only in the mirror with the real crab opposite.
Lead author Mary Kieseler called it the first evidence of invertebrate mirror use and said it shows convergent evolution, while senior author Peter Tse noted it hints at internal spatial maps.

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