Past Programs
Animal Behaviour - 2008
Yabbies smarter than you think
27/03/2008
With a simple nervous system and a brain smaller than the size of a pea, it's long been assumed that, like other invertebrates, the humble yabbie is not all that smart. But a two-year research project has revealed that yabbies are indeed very clever at recognising each other, especially visual features in the facial region. Blair Patullo, a marine biologist in the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne, coordinated the yabby research project. He says it could have significant implications for scientists trying to develop cognition in robotics.
