Goldfish Learn To Drive

Goldfish drivers reveal 
navigation know-how
Venus’ perpetually cloud-
shrouded surface remains 
penetrable only by radio 
waves. A planetary radar 
group now reports results of 
an extended series of radar 
measurements of the topo-
graphy of Venus that for the 
first time provides a view 
of surface height variations 
around the entire circumfer-
ence of the planet.
room, the fish still drove to the pink board.
“That was pretty conclusive that the fish 
actually navigate,” says study coauthor 
and computer scientist Ohad Ben-Shahar. 
Recently, the team let a goldfish take
a joyride through an entire building,
Ben-Shahar says, “and it actually started 
to explore. It went down one of the corri-
dors and started to sneak away.”
Behavioral neuroscientist Kelly 
L ambert is “not completely surprised but 
still intrigued” by the driving abilities of 
Mr. Darcy and his fish friends. In her own 
research at the University of Richmond in 
Virginia, Lambert has taught rats to drive 
toy cars. But teaching goldfish to navigate 
such alien terrain takes animal driving 
experiments to the next level, Lambert 
says. “I love the fish out of water idea.”
When it comes to testing the bounds 
of animal navigation, “it’s important to 
diversify and expand our tasks and our 
species,” Lambert says. “I think we need 
an international race between the rats and 
the goldfish.” — Maria Temming 
Watch a goldfish drive on dry land at bit.ly/SN_FishNavigation
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February 12, 2022 
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