First Photos of a Fish Using a Tool

Dinner Is Served

The tuskfish carries off the newly cracked cockle near Great Keppel Island in Australia.

Not everyone agrees the shellfish-smashing fish is actually using a tool. "It's taken six years to publish this research, because reviewers argued back and forth about whether it was a true example of tool use or not," co-author Jones said.
At issue is whether the tuskfish behavior fits the classic definition of tool use, which requires an animal to actually hold or carry the tool and use it to manipulate another object.

But that definition was based on human and primate behavior, says Jones and her team, and can't be applied to fish. "We argue that tuskfish have a different type of intelligence that's evolved for their specific environment. ... They don't have hands, and they have resistance in the water, so you can't expect them to use a tool the way a primate would."

Come on; it's using a tool, dammit !  The  fish is evolving.  Pretty smart for a fish, huh?