Archerfish have deep and laterally compressed bodies, with the dorsal fin and the profile a straight line from dorsal fin to mouth. The mouth is protractile, and the lower jaw juts out. Sizes are fairly small, typically up to about 12–18 cm (5–7 in), but T. chatareus can reach 40 cm (16 in).[3][4]
Illustration of an archerfish shooting water at a bug on a hanging branchVideo of an archerfish shooting at prey
Archerfish are remarkably accurate in their shooting; an adult fish almost always hits the target on the first shot. Although it is presumed that all archerfish species do this, it has only been confirmed from T. blythii, T. chatareus and T. jaculatrix.[1] They can bring down insects and other prey[6] up to 3 m (10 ft) above the water's surface.[7] This is partially due to their good eyesight, but also to their ability to compensate for the refraction of light as it passes through the air-water interface when aiming at their prey.[8] They typically spit at prey at a mean angle of about 74° from the horizontal but can still aim accurately when spitting at angles between 45° and 110°.[9]
When an archerfish selects its prey, it rotates its eye so that the image of the prey falls on a particular portion of the eye in the ventral temporal periphery of the retina,[10] and its lips just break the surface, squirting a jet of water at its victim. The archerfish does this by forming a small groove in the roof of its mouth and its tongue into a narrow channel. It then fires by contracting its gill covers and forcing water through the channel, shooting a stream that, shaped by its mouth parts, travels faster at the rear than at the front. This speed differential causes the stream to become a blob directly before impact as the slower leading water is overtaken by the faster trailing water, and it is varied by the fish to account for differences in range. It also makes this one of the few animals that both make and use tools, as they both utilise the water and shape it to make it more useful to them.[11][12] They are persistent and will make multiple shots if the first one fails.[13]
Young archerfish start shooting when they are about 2.5 cm (1 in) long but are inaccurate at first and must learn from experience.[citation needed] During this learning period, they hunt in small schools. This way, the probability is enhanced that at least one jet will hit its target.[citation needed] A 2006 experimental study found that archerfish appear to benefit from observational learning by watching a performing group member shoot, without having to practice:
This instance of social learning in a fish is most remarkable as it could imply that observers can ‘‘change their viewpoint,’’ mapping the perceived shooting characteristics of a distant team member into angles and target distances that they later must use to hit.[8]
However, little of their social behaviour is currently known beyond that archerfish are sensitive to, and make changes to their shooting behaviour, when conspecifics are visible to them.[14] This is probably as a result of the potential threat of kleptoparasitism that other archerfish represent to a shooting fish.[15]
An archerfish will often leap out of the water and grab an insect in its mouth if it happens to be within reach. Individuals typically prefer to remain close to the surface of the water.[11]
New research has found that archerfish also use jets to hunt underwater prey, such as those embedded in silt. It is not known whether they learned aerial or underwater shooting first, but the two techniques may have evolved in parallel, as improvements in one can be adapted to the other.[16] This makes it an example of exaptation.
^ abcMaurice Kottelat; Tan Heok Hui (2018). "Three new species of archerfishes from the freshwaters of Southeast Asia (Teleostei: Toxotidae) and notes on Henri Mouhot's fish collections". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. IEF-952: 1–19. doi:10.23788/IEF-952.
^Arthington, A., and McKenzie, F. "Review of Impacts of Displaced/Introduced Fauna Associated with Inland Waters. December 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine" Environment Australia April 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Australia: State of the Environment Technical Paper Series (Inland Waters), Series 1, 1997. Accessed 2009-05-24.
^ abcFroese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Toxotes in FishBase. December 2017 version.
^Johnson, G.D.; Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 189. ISBN0-12-547665-5.
^. liveaquaria. 2016-03-09. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05.
^Douglas, M.M.; Bunn, S.E. & Davies, P.M. (2005-06-03). "River and wetland food webs in Australia's wet-dry tropics: general principles and implications for management" (PDF). Marine and Freshwater Research Vol. 56, No. 3, 329–342. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
^""Plastic flies help spitting archer fish regain aim" Telegraph.co.uk". The Telegraph. 2002-07-11. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
^ abSchuster, S.; Wöhl, S.; Griebsch, M. & Klostermeier, I. (2006-02-21). (PDF). Current Biology. Current Biology Vol. 16, No. 4, 378–383. 16 (4): 378–383. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.12.037. PMID 16488871. S2CID 1139246. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
^Temple, S. E. "Effect of salinity on the refracive index of water: considerations for archer fish aerial vision" 'Journal of Fish Biology' Vol 70, 1626–1629 2007.
^Temple, S.E., Hart, N. S., and Colin, S. P. "A spitting image: visual specializations of the arsherfish (Toxotes chatareus)" 'Brain Behaviour and Evolution' Vol. 73, 309 2009.
^"Spit Decision: How Archerfish Decide". WIRED. 19 November 2013.
^Timmermans, P.J.A (2000). "Prey Catching in the Archer Fish: Marksmanship, and Endurance of Squirting At an Aerial Target". Netherlands Journal of Zoology. 50 (4): 411–423. doi:10.1163/156854200X00162. Retrieved 2014-10-06.
^Jones, N. A. R., Webster, M. M., Templeton, C. N., Schuster, S., & Rendell, L. (2018). Presence of an audience and consistent interindividual differences affect archerfish shooting behaviour. Animal Behaviour, 141, 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.024
^Davis, B. D., & Dill, L. M. (2012). Intraspecific kleptoparasitism and counter-tactics in the archerfish (Toxotes chatareus). Behaviour, 149(13–14), 1367–1394. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-00003026
^"New Scientist: Spitting archerfish shoot at prey above and beneath the water".
^Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2017). "Toxotidae" in FishBase. December 2017 version.
^Girard, M G; Davis, M P; Tan, H H; Wedd, D J; Chakrabarty, P; Ludt, W B; Summers, A P; Smith, W L (2022). "Phylogenetics of archerfishes (Toxotidae) and evolution of the toxotid shooting apparatus". Integrative Organismal Biology. 4 (1): obac013. doi:10.1093/iob/obac013. PMC9259087. PMID 35814192.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External linksedit
Archerfish Shooting Various Insects
Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore: Archerfish
Information and Photos on Archerfish
– LiveScience.com
December 15, 2023
archerfish, ships, with, name, archer, fish, archerfish, also, known, spinner, fish, archer, fish, toxotidae, monotypic, family, although, some, include, second, genus, perciform, tropical, fish, known, their, unique, predation, technique, shooting, down, land. For ships with the name Archerfish Archer Fish see USS Archerfish The archerfish also known as spinner fish or archer fish or Toxotidae are a monotypic family although some include a second genus of perciform tropical fish known for their unique predation technique of shooting down land based insects and other small prey with jets of water spit from their specialized mouths The family is small consisting of ten species in a single genus Toxotes Most archerfish live in freshwater streams ponds and wetlands but two or three species are euryhaline inhabiting both fresh and brackish water habitats such as estuaries and mangroves 1 2 They can be found from India Bangladesh and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Melanesia and Northern Australia 3 ArcherfishToxotes jaculatrixScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder PerciformesFamily ToxotidaeCuvier 1816Genus ToxotesCuvier 1816Type speciesLabrus jaculatorShaw 1803Archerfish have deep and laterally compressed bodies with the dorsal fin and the profile a straight line from dorsal fin to mouth The mouth is protractile and the lower jaw juts out Sizes are fairly small typically up to about 12 18 cm 5 7 in but T chatareus can reach 40 cm 16 in 3 4 Archerfish are popular exotic fish for aquaria 5 but are difficult to feed and maintain by average fishkeepers since they prefer live prey over typical fish foods Contents 1 Capture of prey 2 Species 3 Timeline 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksCapture of prey edit nbsp Illustration of an archerfish shooting water at a bug on a hanging branch source source source source source Video of an archerfish shooting at preyArcherfish are remarkably accurate in their shooting an adult fish almost always hits the target on the first shot Although it is presumed that all archerfish species do this it has only been confirmed from T blythii T chatareus and T jaculatrix 1 They can bring down insects and other prey 6 up to 3 m 10 ft above the water s surface 7 This is partially due to their good eyesight but also to their ability to compensate for the refraction of light as it passes through the air water interface when aiming at their prey 8 They typically spit at prey at a mean angle of about 74 from the horizontal but can still aim accurately when spitting at angles between 45 and 110 9 When an archerfish selects its prey it rotates its eye so that the image of the prey falls on a particular portion of the eye in the ventral temporal periphery of the retina 10 and its lips just break the surface squirting a jet of water at its victim The archerfish does this by forming a small groove in the roof of its mouth and its tongue into a narrow channel It then fires by contracting its gill covers and forcing water through the channel shooting a stream that shaped by its mouth parts travels faster at the rear than at the front This speed differential causes the stream to become a blob directly before impact as the slower leading water is overtaken by the faster trailing water and it is varied by the fish to account for differences in range It also makes this one of the few animals that both make and use tools as they both utilise the water and shape it to make it more useful to them 11 12 They are persistent and will make multiple shots if the first one fails 13 Young archerfish start shooting when they are about 2 5 cm 1 in long but are inaccurate at first and must learn from experience citation needed During this learning period they hunt in small schools This way the probability is enhanced that at least one jet will hit its target citation needed A 2006 experimental study found that archerfish appear to benefit from observational learning by watching a performing group member shoot without having to practice This instance of social learning in a fish is most remarkable as it could imply that observers can change their viewpoint mapping the perceived shooting characteristics of a distant team member into angles and target distances that they later must use to hit 8 However little of their social behaviour is currently known beyond that archerfish are sensitive to and make changes to their shooting behaviour when conspecifics are visible to them 14 This is probably as a result of the potential threat of kleptoparasitism that other archerfish represent to a shooting fish 15 An archerfish will often leap out of the water and grab an insect in its mouth if it happens to be within reach Individuals typically prefer to remain close to the surface of the water 11 New research has found that archerfish also use jets to hunt underwater prey such as those embedded in silt It is not known whether they learned aerial or underwater shooting first but the two techniques may have evolved in parallel as improvements in one can be adapted to the other 16 This makes it an example of exaptation Species edit nbsp Toxotes blythiiThere are 9 valid species 8 in the genus Toxotes 1 3 17 18 Protoxotes lorentzi Weber 1910 primitive archerfish Toxotes blythii Boulenger 1892 clouded archerfish zebra archerfish Toxotes carpentariensis Castelnau 1878 Toxotes chatareus Hamilton 1822 largescale archerfish common archerfish Toxotes jaculatrix Pallas 1767 banded archerfish Toxotes kimberleyensis Allen 2004 Kimberley archerfish western archerfish Toxotes microlepis Gunther 1860 smallscale archerfish Toxotes oligolepis Bleeker 1876 big scale archerfish Toxotes sundaicus Kottelat amp Tan 2018Timeline editSee also editProjectile use by non human organismsReferences edit a b c Maurice Kottelat Tan Heok Hui 2018 Three new species of archerfishes from the freshwaters of Southeast Asia Teleostei Toxotidae and notes on Henri Mouhot s fish collections Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters IEF 952 1 19 doi 10 23788 IEF 952 Arthington A and McKenzie F Review of Impacts of Displaced Introduced Fauna Associated with Inland Waters Archived December 1 2008 at the Wayback Machine Environment Australia Archived April 25 2009 at the Wayback Machine Australia State of the Environment Technical Paper Series Inland Waters Series 1 1997 Accessed 2009 05 24 a b c Froese Rainer and Pauly Daniel eds 2017 Species of Toxotes in FishBase December 2017 version Johnson G D Gill A C 1998 Paxton J R Eschmeyer W N eds Encyclopedia of Fishes San Diego Academic Press p 189 ISBN 0 12 547665 5 Archer Fish Toxotes jaculatrix liveaquaria 2016 03 09 Archived from the original on 2016 04 05 Douglas M M Bunn S E amp Davies P M 2005 06 03 River and wetland food webs in Australia s wet dry tropics general principles and implications for management PDF Marine and Freshwater Research Vol 56 No 3 329 342 Retrieved 2009 05 24 Plastic flies help spitting archer fish regain aim Telegraph co uk The Telegraph 2002 07 11 Retrieved 2009 05 24 a b Schuster S Wohl S Griebsch M amp Klostermeier I 2006 02 21 Animal Cognition How Archer Fish Learn to Down Rapidly Moving Targets PDF Current Biology Current Biology Vol 16 No 4 378 383 16 4 378 383 doi 10 1016 j cub 2005 12 037 PMID 16488871 S2CID 1139246 Archived from the original PDF on 2010 06 14 Retrieved 2014 05 31 Temple S E Effect of salinity on the refracive index of water considerations for archer fish aerial vision Journal of Fish Biology Vol 70 1626 1629 2007 Temple S E Hart N S and Colin S P A spitting image visual specializations of the arsherfish Toxotes chatareus Brain Behaviour and Evolution Vol 73 309 2009 a b Milius Susan October 2014 Archerfish mouth reveals spit secret Science News 186 7 8 doi 10 1002 scin 2014 186007005 Spit Decision How Archerfish Decide WIRED 19 November 2013 Timmermans P J A 2000 Prey Catching in the Archer Fish Marksmanship and Endurance of Squirting At an Aerial Target Netherlands Journal of Zoology 50 4 411 423 doi 10 1163 156854200X00162 Retrieved 2014 10 06 Jones N A R Webster M M Templeton C N Schuster S amp Rendell L 2018 Presence of an audience and consistent interindividual differences affect archerfish shooting behaviour Animal Behaviour 141 95 103 https doi org 10 1016 j anbehav 2018 04 024 Davis B D amp Dill L M 2012 Intraspecific kleptoparasitism and counter tactics in the archerfish Toxotes chatareus Behaviour 149 13 14 1367 1394 https doi org 10 1163 1568539X 00003026 New Scientist Spitting archerfish shoot at prey above and beneath the water Froese Rainer and Daniel Pauly eds 2017 Toxotidae in FishBase December 2017 version Girard M G Davis M P Tan H H Wedd D J Chakrabarty P Ludt W B Summers A P Smith W L 2022 Phylogenetics of archerfishes Toxotidae and evolution of the toxotid shooting apparatus Integrative Organismal Biology 4 1 obac013 doi 10 1093 iob obac013 PMC 9259087 PMID 35814192 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link External links editArcherfish Shooting Various Insects Archerfish capturing prey Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore Archerfish Information and Photos on Archerfish Archerfish Can Adjust Their Deadly Shots Based on the Size of the Prey LiveScience com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Archerfish amp oldid 1186866841, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
