typhlonectes:Archerfish Ramp Up Their Game to Outgun Rivals Stealing Their Catchby Andy CoghlanArche
typhlonectes:Archerfish Ramp Up Their Game to Outgun Rivals Stealing Their Catchby Andy CoghlanArcherfish are the Robin Hoods of the aquatic world – they rarely miss their target. But unlike Robin Hood, they are less keen to share their loot.Archerfish catch food by firing jets of water at prey. They share waters with more numerous fish called halfbeaks, which are after the same prey – typically grubs, crickets or beetles – and will snatch insects downed by archerfish if given a chance.To survive, archerfish have had to evolve new, sharper hunting skills such as “predictive start”, whereby they launch themselves towards where the prey will hit the water while it is still falling. But although this helps them to beat halfbeaks during the day, archerfish have had to give up hunting at night, when halfbeaks’ skills come to the fore.The discovery of this “arms race” between archerfish and halfbeaks was made by analysing hundreds of high-speed video recordings of archerfish in action, both in their mangrove habitat in Thailand and in the lab…(read more: New Scientist)photograph by Kim Taylor/naturepl.com -- source link