Table 1.

Advantages of some exemplary non-mammalian species as model organisms.

	Birds				Reptiles		Fish		Invertebrates
	Chicken	Crow	Pigeon	Zebra finch	Anole	Painted turtle	Zebrafish	Stickleback	Sea hare	Cockroach	Octopus	Jumping Spider	Fruit fly	Honeybee
Technical
Low cost	x				x		x	x	x	x		x	x	x
Ease of husbandry	x		x	x			x	x	x				x	x
Neurobiology
Genome sequenced	x		x	x	x	x	x	x	x				x	x
Genetic variants available							x						x
Well-characterized nervous system	x		x	x			x	x	x	x			x	x
Brain/Neuron size	x	x	x						x		x
Well-characterized development	x			x			x						x
Behavior
Well-characterized sensory system	x		x	x			x	x			x		x	x
Highly-developed visual system	x	x	x	x			x				x	x		x
Sophisticated motor repertoire	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x		x	x	x		x
Established response to novelty		x					x	x		x	x