archerfish

American  

[ahr-cher-fish] / ˈɑr tʃərˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

archerfish,

plural

archerfishes

1. a small fish, Toxotes jaculatrix, of brackish and fresh waters in southeastern Asia, that preys upon shoreside spiders and insects by spitting drops of water at them and knocking them into the water.

2. any of several closely related fishes of the family Toxotidae.

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archerfish British  

/ ˈɑːtʃəˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any freshwater percoid fish of the family Toxotidae of S and SE Asia and Australia, esp Toxotes jaculatrix, that catch insects by spitting water at them

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Etymology

Origin of archerfish

First recorded in 1885–90; archer + fish

Example Sentences

An archerfish can blast a spider out of a mangrove bush from 1 meter away, sending the prey plopping into the water where the sharpshooting swimmer quickly gobbles it up.

From Science Magazine

To find out, neuroscientist Ronen Segev and colleagues trained five archerfish to shoot at images on a computer screen hanging above their tanks in their lab at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

From Science Magazine

University of Oxford zoologist Cait Newport suspected the archerfish she was studying could recognize her.

From Scientific American

When naive archerfish watch fish already skilled at hitting moving targets, they more often hit their target on their first attempt, compared to those who never observed others hunt.

From The Guardian

Just last year, Sparks was part of a team that invented a biomimetic archerfish for the purposes of aiding research on social cognition.

From Washington Times