Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Salamanders can do maths

Nature (2003)Cite this article

Amphibians hint that number skills evolved early.

Salamanders, given a choice between tubes containing two fruitflies or three, lunge at the tube of three1. This hints that the ability to differentiate between small numbers of objects may have evolved much earlier than scientists had thought.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Uller, C., Jaeger, R., Guidry, G. & Martin, C. Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) go for more: rudiments of number in an amphibian. Animal Cognition, published online, doi:10.1007/s10071-003-0167-x (2003).

  2. Nieder, A., Freedman, D. J. & Miller, E. K. Representation of the quantity of visual items in the primate prefrontal cortex. Science, 297, 1708 - 1711, (2003).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Hannah Hoag
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hoag, H. Salamanders can do maths. Nature (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/news030428-19

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news030428-19

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing