Deadly Water pistols ....

         Archerfish have been shown by  team t the university of 


Erlangen in Germany to be even more impressive at squirting 


jets of water at prey than previously realized.It is not a question 


of fire and hope the fish re deadly accurate and can calculate the 


quantity of water needed to dislodge each unfortunate creature 


chosen for supper. The quantity of water spat t the prey-


generally  flies,beetles and spiders and occasionally small lizards 


is judged according to size. Researches found that the fish 


consistently squirted bout ten times as much as was needed to 


knock the chosen prey into the water where it could be snapped 


up.




      The archer fish's hunting technique is costly in terms of 


energy expended,so it limits wasted effort by altering the mount 


of water expelled according to the creature it intends to dislodge 


from an overhanging part. Of course,using ten times s much 


water as is required would seem to be  built in safety margins to 


maximize the chances of success.




         The findings came just years after it was demonstrated that 


archerfish can assess not just the sie and position of the 


target,but can also take account of distortion caused by light 


striking the water.