Archerfish
Archerfish (also known as archer fish, spinner fish or insect-eater) are small perciform fish. Some live in fresh water. Others live in salt water. They live in lots of places, like India, the Philippines, Australia, and Polynesia.
| Archerfish | |
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| Banded archerfish, Toxotes jaculatrix | |
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| Family: | Toxotidae
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| Genus: | Toxotes |
Archerfish eat insects and other small animals. The archerfish looks for an insect hanging over the water. The archerfish shoots drops of water out of its mouth at the insect. When the drops hit the insect, it falls into the water. Then the archerfish catches (gets) the insect and eats it.
Archerfish can eat insects up to two meters (six feet) away. Adult archerfish almost always hit the insect the first time, but young archerfish must do it many times in order to learn how.
The type species is the banded archerfish, Toxotes jaculatrix. It is also known as the common archerfish or just archerfish. There is the common archerfish, which has a similar common name but is not the type species. The body of the Toxotus chatareus sooty but sometimes silvery or gold. The dorsal side is greenish-brown.
The pectoral fins are clear or "dusky" in color. Pelvic fins may be darker and heavily pigmented.
Archerfish Media
Illustration of an archerfish shooting water at a bug on a hanging branch
clouded archerfish or zebra archerfish ( Toxotes Blythii ) in Aquarium Dubuisson, in Liège.
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Other websites
- Archerfish capturing prey Archived 2015-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore: Archerfish Archived 2021-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Information and Photos on Archerfish Archived 2019-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
- Archerfish Can Adjust Their Deadly Shots Based on the Size of the Prey - LiveScience.com
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Wikispecies has information on: Toxotes. |