New research has shown how the Asian archerfish shoots streams of water as a tool to nab its land-based prey, such as lizards, insects and spiders.
According to LiveScience, the zebra-striped archerfish is the only fish known to shoot its prey with a stream of water. The researchers published their work in the journal Current Biology.
"The predominant impression from our field work 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," study co-author Stefan Schuster, a researcher at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, said in a press release. "It pays to be able to powerfully hit prey over a wide range of distances."
The archerfish often look for prey on leaves and branches out over the water to shoot them down from. They can reach victims up to 6.5 feet away using their tongue and roof of their mouth to form a shaft like a gun barrel.
The researchers concluded archerfish do this to maximize the distance and power of their water stream.
"One of the last strongholds of human uniqueness is our ability to powerfully throw stones or spears at distant targets," Schuster said. "This is really an impressive capability and requires-among many fascinating aspects-precise time control of movement. It is believed that this ability has forced our brains to become bigger, housing many more neurons to afford the precision.
"With the many neurons around, they could be used for other tasks apart from applying them for powerful throws. It is remarkable that the same line of reasoning could also be applied to archerfish."
Schuster co-authored the study with his colleague Peggy Gerullis, who studied the fish by training them to hit preset targets.
"The biggest problem is how to modify the abrasive properties of a jet," Schuster said. "Usually this is done by modulating the release pressure or by varying the abrasives added to the jet. We are not aware of someone actually using a dynamically adjustable valve."
