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Banded Archerfish — printable fact sheet
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Banded Archerfish
Toxotes jaculatrix
The archerfish shoots insects off overhanging vegetation with a jet of water fired from its mouth, and to do it it has to solve a genuinely difficult physics problem. Light bends as it crosses the water's surface, so the insect is not where it appears to be, and the fish correct…
Did you know?
- The Banded Archerfish can recognize individual human faces, an ability rare among fish.
- It corrects for the refraction of light at the water's surface — the insect is not where it appears to be, and the fish compensates. It shapes its jet so the back travels faster and catches up, arriving as a single heavy blob for maximum impact. It predicts where a falling insect will land within hundredths of a second and swims there before it hits the water. Young archerfish are bad shots and learn by practising — and by watching others.
What I learned
Draw the banded archerfish
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