Number sense in animals is the ability of creatures to represent and discriminate quantities of relative sizes by number sense. It has been observed in various species, from fish to primates. Animals are believed to have an approximate number system, the same system for number representation demonstrated by humans, which is more precise for smaller quantities and less so for larger values. An exact representation of numbers higher than three has not been attested in wild animals,[1] but can be demonstrated after a period of training in captive animals.
In order to distinguish number sense in animals from the symbolic and verbal number system in humans, researchers use the term numerosity,[2] rather than number, to refer to the concept that supports approximate estimation but does not support an exact representation of number quality.
Number sense in animals includes the recognition and comparison of number quantities. Some numerical operations, such as addition, have been demonstrated in many species, including rats and great apes. Representing fractions and fraction addition has been observed in chimpanzees. A wide range of species with an approximate number system suggests an early evolutionary origin of this mechanism or multiple convergent evolution events. Like humans, chicks have a left-to-right mental number line (they associate the left space with smaller numbers and the right space with larger numbers).[3]
^Hauser, Marc D.; Carey, Susan; Hauser, Lilan B. (2000). "Spontaneous number representation in semi–free–ranging rhesus monkeys". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 267 (1445): 829–833. doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1078. PMC 1690599. PMID 10819154.
^Dehaene, Stanislas (2011). "The Number Sense: How the mind creates Mathematics". Oxford University Press. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Rugani, R.; Vallortigara, G.; Priftis, K.; Regolin, L. (2015-01-30). "Number-space mapping in the newborn chick resembles humans' mental number line". Science. 347 (6221): 534–536. Bibcode:2015Sci...347..534R. doi:10.1126/science.aaa1379. hdl:11572/123527. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 25635096. S2CID 7628051.
and 25 Related for: Number sense in animals information
In psychology, numbersense is the term used for the hypothesis that some animals, particularly humans, have a biologically determined ability that allows...
form of numbersensein plants. Some such plants include the Venus flytrap and Arabidopsis thaliana. The Venus flytrap can count to two and five in order...
transmit information in an animal's nervous system so that it can sense stimuli from its environment and behave accordingly. Not all animals have neurons; Trichoplax...
Senses used by non-human organisms are even greater in variety and number. During sensation, sense organs collect various stimuli (such as a sound or smell)...
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (/ˌænɪˈmɑːliə/). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material...
persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is the number of units in such a building that are rented, leased, or otherwise in use. Lack...
120 species of animals are mentioned in the Bible, ordered alphabetically in this article by English vernacular name. Animals mentioned in the Old Testament...
Islam, animals are conscious of God. According to the Quran, they praise Him, even if this praise is not expressed in human language. Baiting animals for...
The dog sense of smell is the most powerful sense of this species, the olfactory system of canines being much more complex and developed than that of...
Military animals are trained animals that are used in warfare and other combat related activities. As working animals, different military animals serve different...
of animal consciousness is beset with a number of difficulties. It poses the problem of other minds in an especially severe form because animals, lacking...
enable discrimination of particular objects by people and other animals. This common sense is distinct from the several sensory perceptions and from human...
nocturnal animals or animals which forage in muddy waters. Whiskers can also function as wind detecting antannae such as the supra-orbital ones in rats. Sensory...
Animal communication is the transfer of information from one or a group of animals (sender or senders) to one or more other animals (receiver or receivers)...
The sense of balance or equilibrioception is the perception of balance and spatial orientation. It helps prevent humans and nonhuman animals from falling...
Kosher animals are animals that comply with the regulations of kashrut and are considered kosher foods. These dietary laws ultimately derive from various...
interest inanimals) and bestiality (as sexual acts with animals), because bestiality is often not driven by a sexual preference for animals. Some studies...
'Animals'". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2016. Tallerico, Brian (March 10, 2014). "Animals...
molecular biology, collectively referred to as vision science. In humans and a number of other mammals, light enters the eye through the cornea and is...
Mechanical Animals' themes primarily deals with the trappings of fame and drug abuse. A rock opera and concept album, Mechanical Animals is the second...
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animalsin experiments that seek to...
equine animals used for food or in the production of food, fish used for food, and other animals designated by the Secretary". Deadstock is defined in contradistinction...
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals is Charles Darwin's third major work of evolutionary theory, following On the Origin of Species (1859)...