Fish Spits Water To Hunt Prey
- 10 years ago
In order to capture insects residing above the water, the archerfish will spit powerful streams of water from their mouths at them.
Instead of waiting for their meals, the archerfish get insects into the water and inside their mouths using an unusual method.
Unlike any other fish out there, the archerfish shoots water from their mouth, aiming it at their prey.
When hit, the insect falls into the water, and is easily caught by the archerfish.
Residing in river estuaries and mangroves, the archerfish are forced to hunt during the daytime to avoid competition from other fish.
Biologists from the University of Bayreuth in Germany studied the hunting habits of these fish to better understand their hunting method.
Their research found the fish utilize only water and their mouths to produce the stream.
The fish are able to control the direction, pressure and distance of the water with their mouths.
First the fish open their mouths to a fixed maximum width before judging distance and closing it to the proper size for spitting the liquid.
Studying these fish is useful because the methods the archerfish use to expel water can potentially be applied to inkjet printing and cutting objects with water.
Instead of waiting for their meals, the archerfish get insects into the water and inside their mouths using an unusual method.
Unlike any other fish out there, the archerfish shoots water from their mouth, aiming it at their prey.
When hit, the insect falls into the water, and is easily caught by the archerfish.
Residing in river estuaries and mangroves, the archerfish are forced to hunt during the daytime to avoid competition from other fish.
Biologists from the University of Bayreuth in Germany studied the hunting habits of these fish to better understand their hunting method.
Their research found the fish utilize only water and their mouths to produce the stream.
The fish are able to control the direction, pressure and distance of the water with their mouths.
First the fish open their mouths to a fixed maximum width before judging distance and closing it to the proper size for spitting the liquid.
Studying these fish is useful because the methods the archerfish use to expel water can potentially be applied to inkjet printing and cutting objects with water.