Angry clownfish count to tell friend from foe

Scientists discover the famous striped fish can count to three.

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If you’ve seen the Pixar film Finding Nemo, then you’ll be familiar with the clownfish, which has an orange body and white stripes. These stripes give them a unique and distinctive look, but it turns out they also serve a more important purpose – helping the fish tell friend from foe.

Although they are friendly in the film, they are in fact very feisty fish. “These are literally among the most aggressive animals on our planet,” marine neuroscientist Justin Rhodes told Science magazine.