Lateralization of predator-evasion response in a teleost fish (Girardinus falcatus).

Evidence of lateral asymmetries in the direction of turning during escape behaviour in a species of poeciliid fish, Girardinus falcatus, is reported. When repeatedly faced with a simulated predator (in five successive sessions, spaced 7 days apart), immature Girardinus falcatus exhibited a significant population bias to turn right on the first session and a progressive bias to turn left in subsequent sessions. Mature Girardinus were then tested to check whether the shift in the direction of turn with repeated sessions depended on maturation or habituation. It was found that adult Girardinus showed a slight population bias to turn right in the first session and a strong subsequent bias to turn left after repeated sessions. The implications of these findings to our current understanding of the evolution of brain lateralization are discussed.