Mice can recognise themselves in the mirror.
Mice can see themselves in the mirror
A new study has found that the rodents are capable - just like humans and chimps - of spotting their reflections.
Scientists at the University of Texas discovered that black mice who had their heads painted with white ink attempted to clean themselves up after looking in a mirror.
This shows that the animals are able to pass the 'Mirror Test' - often considered to be a sign of self-awareness and consciousness in other species.
However, the team pointed out that mice needed a lot more prompting than humans and chimps.
The study's lead author Jun Yokose said: "The mice required significant external sensory cues to pass the mirror test - we have to put a lot of ink on their heads, and then the tactile stimulus coming from the ink somehow enables the animal to detect the ink on their heads via a mirror reflection."