archerfish

American  

[ahr-cher-fish] / ˈɑr tʃərˌfɪʃ /

noun

• archerfish,
  plural
• archerfishes
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• archerfish
  plural
• archerfishes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of archerfish

First recorded in 1885–90; archer + fish

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

archerfish

That means the archerfish were missing information about color and movement, which they would have when hunting in the wild.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 1, 2022

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 ● Mar. 1, 2022

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 ● Oct. 30, 2018

Using water as a projectile is only one of many foraging options for the archerfish.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 8, 2017

An archerfish can squirt water in a single shot or in a machine gun–like fusillade.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 8, 2017

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