Fish artfully target prey by spitting jets of water

(YouTube)


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

GERMANY — Insects, spiders and small lizards aren’t safe from an archerfish’s hunt, even when out of the water.

Archerfish can skillfully target prey sitting on leaves and twigs above the water by shooting jets of water out of its mouth. Researchers recently trained the fish to shoot targets in a lab setting to test the accuracy and limits of the fish’s aim, according to a new study.

"The predominant impression from our fieldwork in Thailand over several years is that there is very little to actually shoot at, so it's important for the fish to be efficient," researcher Stefan Schuster said in a statement. "It pays to be able to powerfully hit prey over a wide range of distances."

New York Times science writer Jim Gorman further explores the archerfish’s ability in an entertaining ScienceTake video. The study by the University of Bayreuth, in Germany, was published in Current Biology on Sept. 4.

Photos

Most recent Science stories

Related topics

Science
Natalie Crofts

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast