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Outside magazine, June 1996


Further Proof that Size Doesn't Matter


After hearing the recent shocking news that the African elephant-nose fish possesses a "bigger" brain than we human beings-as determined by the percentage of the body's total oxygen intake that is consumed by the gray matter-we decided to check in with Swedish biologist Goran Nilsson, discoverer of the tiny critter's extraordinary mental capacity, to see if we had any more surprises in store.

Species
Brain's oxygen use (percent of body's total)
African elephant-nose fish 60
Human 20
Chimpanzee 14
Orangutan 14
Porpoise 13