Archerfish
Banded archerfish, Toxotes jaculatrix
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Toxotidae Genus: Toxotes Cuvier, 1816
Species
seven species: see text. Download high resolution version (1280x850, 1138 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Digimon, the only known animals. ... Template:Tax more Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families many, see text The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all fish and are the largest order of vertebrates. ... Georges - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ...

The archerfishes (or archer fishes) are a family (Toxotidae) of fish notable for their habit of preying on insects and other small animals by shooting them down with water "pellets" from their specialized mouths. A large lower jaw helps these fish to hunt. The family is a small one, consisting of seven species in the genus Toxotes; all occur in fresh, brackish and marine waters from India to the Philippines, Australia, and Polynesia. In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Orders See taxonomy Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species — more than all other animal groups combined [1]. Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a... Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ...

Archerfish bodies are deep and compressed, with the dorsal fin set far back, and the profile a straight line from dorsal fin to mouth. The mouth is protractile, and the lower jaw juts out. Sizes are generally small, but T. chatareus can reach 40 cm. Dorsal Fin of the Orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins and porpoises. ...

Archerfish are remarkably accurate in their shooting, adult fish almost always hitting the target on the first shot. They can bring down an insect six feet above the water's surface. This is partially due to their good eyesight, but also because of their ability to compensate for the refraction which occurs when light travels through water. They do this by swimming directly under the prey, where the distortion is the least. The straw seems to be broken, due to refraction of light as it emerges into the air. ...

When their prey is spotted, the archerfish sticks its snout just above the surface and squirts a jet of water at its victim. It is able to do this because of the narrow groove it has at the top of its mouth. It presses its tongue against this groove to form a narrow channel, then contracts its gill covers to force a powerful jet of water through the channel.

The resulting jet of water can be up to 2-3 m long, but their accuracy only allows them to shoot insects 1-1.5 m away. If the first shot does not knock the victim into the water, the archerfish will keep trying. Young archerfish start shooting when about 2.5 cm long, but are inaccurate at first and must learn from experience. During this learning period, they hunt in small swarms. This way the probability that at least one jet will hit is higher. The fish can also alter the power of the shot for prey of different sizes.

Note, however, that archerfish prefer to leap out of the water and grab the insect in their mouth if it happens to be within reach.

Archerfish are popular for aquaria. Aquarium is also the name of the Russian band, which is also spelled Akvarium A 335,000 gallon (1. ...

Species

• Toxotes blythii Boulenger, 1892.
• Largescale archerfish, Toxotes chatareus (Hamilton, 1822).
• Banded archerfish, Toxotes jaculatrix (Pallas, 1767).
• Toxotes kimberleyensis Allen, 2004.
• Primitive archerfish, Toxotes lorentzi Weber, 1910.
• Smallscale archerfish, Toxotes microlepis Günther, 1860.
• Western archerfish, Toxotes oligolepis Bleeker, 1876.

George Boulenger. ... Species seven species: see text. ... Peter Simon Pallas (September 22, 1741 - September 8, 1811) was a German-born Russian zoologist. ... Albrecht Carl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther. ... Pieter Bleeker (1819 - 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia. ...

See also

Several submarines of the United States Navy have been named USS Archerfish. German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Günther Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter Typhoon class nuclear ballistic missile submarine USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine is a watercraft that can operate underwater... The United States Navy, also known as the USN or the U.S. Navy, is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ... Two submarines of the United States Navy have been named USS Archerfish, after the archerfish. ...

References

• "Toxotidae". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
• "Toxotes". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.

FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ... FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ...

External links

• 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