Thursday, December 15, 2005

Archy fish?

Archer Fish


Archer Fishes are famed for their ability to shoot down insects and small creatures resting on foliage or mangrove roots. In fact, Toxotes means "bowman" or "archer". Their flattened body presents a narrow profile from above, so they can sneak up on their prey. The bold black-and-white markings camouflage them in the sundappled water under mangrove vegetation.
How do they shoot? Archer Fishes are like submarine water pistols and can spit out a strong and accurate jet of water. With their tongue against the groove on the roof of their mouth, they form a tube, and force water powerfully out by snapping shut their gills. To get a good jet of water, the snout sticks out of the water, but the rest of the fish remains underwater. They direct the jet of water with the tip of their tongue. For accurate aim, they have large eyes located very near the mouth, which give good binocular vision. Their eyes, however, do not automatically correct for refraction, and they have to learn how to do this. The position of least distortion is directly below the prey, and the fish soon learn that this is the best shooting spot. The fish can squirt up to 7 times in quick succession, and the jet can reach 2-3m, but they are accurate to only about 1-1.5m. Fish as small as 2-3cm long can already spit, but their jets reach only 10-20cm.

haha...mi bo liao...interesting fish...

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home