Self-recognition in the rhesus macaque?

Rhesus macaques routinely fail the mirror self-recognition task, the time-honored but beleaguered gold standard of self-consciousness. A new study claims to show that the rhesus is aware of its agency; that is, it recognizes its own actions as belonging to it.

I didn't read the study, mostly because it's not published yet (see J. J. Couchman in the July 2011 issue of Biology Letters), but the article about it makes some pretty bold claims about rhesus metacognition that seem a little premature - all the monkeys seem to be doing is forming an association between efferent motor signals and afferent visual input.

Of course, that association probably helps form the foundation for self-awareness in the first place. But even full-blown agency isn't sufficient for self-awareness. In fact, it might not even be necessary.