Fish using sign language

[UrbScotty]

Two types of fish have been shown to use gestures, or sign language, to help one another hunt. This is the first time these types of gestures have been found to occur in animals other than primates and ravens.

Both types of fish, grouper and coral trout, are known for hunting cooperatively with other kinds of animals. Whereas the grouper hunts with giant moray eels and a fish called the Napoleon wrasse, coral trout partner up with octopuses to snag prey. A study published last week in the journal Nature Communications found that the fish are able to "point" their heads toward prey, to help out their hunting buddies.

After observing the fish in the wild for many hours, the researchers found that when a prey fish escaped its hunting party, a grouper occasionally moved over the place where the fugitive prey was hiding. The grouper would then rotate its body so that its head faced downward, and it would shake its head back and forth in the direction of the potential meal, in what researchers call a "headstand" signal. Coral trout make a similar sign, the researchers found. [Image Gallery: The Freakiest Fish]

Grouper partner with eel and wrasse, which live in the Red Sea and have complementary hunter-prey tactics: Grouper has "burst speed" in the open water, whereas giant moray eels can crawl into small holes, and wrasse have protracting jaws that can crush coral to get at prey, according to the study. Coral trout collaborate with octopuses, which are also better at fitting into tight spaces. This latter pair lives in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/29/17972118-heres-a-first-fish-using-sign-language

[undergroundpanther]

1. Just because we

cannot understand,this does not mean people are the only animals with language in the world.
Cats talk with chirps meows tail position ears and facial expressions.Cats converse.My cats call me by a name in their language when they want my attention,it is a certain sequence of sounds,both cats use the same sound.Each cat has a certain sound for each other too. So cats DO have names.
Just be observant,animals converse and team up and are as inventive as we, just differently.