Anisotropy of perceived space in non-primates? The horizontal-vertical illusion in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) and red-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved..

The horizontal-vertical illusion is a size illusion in which two same-sized objects appear to be different if presented on a horizontal or vertical plane, with the vertical one appearing longer. This illusion represents one of the main evidences of the anisotropy of the perceived space of humans, an asymmetrical perception of the object size presented in the vertical and horizontal space. Although this illusion has been widely investigated in humans, there is an almost complete lack of studies in non-human animals. Here we investigated whether reptiles perceive the horizontal-vertical illusion. We tested two reptile species: bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) and red-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonaria). In control trials, two different-sized food strips were presented and animals were expected to choose the longer one. In test trials, animals received two same-sized strips, presented in a spatial arrangement eliciting the illusion. Only bearded dragons significantly preferred the longer strip in control trials; in test trials, bearded dragons selected the strip arranged vertically, suggesting a human-like perception of this pattern, while no clear choice for either array was observed in tortoises. Our results raise the interesting possibility that the anisotropy of perceived space can exists also in a reptile brain.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2020

Erschienen:

2020

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:176

Enthalten in:

Behavioural processes - 176(2020) vom: 01. Juli, Seite 104117

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Santacà, Maria [VerfasserIn]
Miletto Petrazzini, Maria Elena [VerfasserIn]
Wilkinson, Anna [VerfasserIn]
Agrillo, Christian [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Animal cognition
Journal Article
Perception
Reptiles
Size discrimination
Visual illusions

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 08.12.2020

Date Revised 14.12.2020

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104117

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM308449045