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Banded Archerfish

Banded Archerfish

Toxotes Jaculatrix

Quick Facts

Scientific nameToxotes Jaculatrix

Other namesNorthern Rifle Fish

SizeUp to 30 cm (11.8 in)

WeightUnder 1 kg (2.2 lb)

FamilyArcherfish / Toxotidae

Distribution

Habitat & AU DistributionBrackish coastal waters, mangroves, estuaries, rivers, streams, lakes & billabongs

The Banded Archerfish is one of the most unusual hunters in Australian waters. It shoots insects out of the air by spitting a jet of water with surprising force and accuracy.
A large Banded Archerfish can hit a target up to 2 or 3 metres away. That is a long shot for a fish that commonly grows to around 20 cm, with some reaching about 30 cm.
To fire its shot, the fish presses its tongue against the roof of its mouth to form a narrow tube. When the gill covers snap shut, water is forced along the tube and out in a powerful stream.
What makes this even more impressive is that the fish has to account for the way light bends at the water’s surface. Without adjusting for this, the jet would miss every time.
Banded Archerfish are not limited to hunting with water alone. They also feed at the surface during the day on insects and plant matter that have fallen onto the water.
In Australia, the Banded Archerfish is found across the tropical north, from Yampi Sound in Western Australia around to Cairns in Queensland. Its range extends through much of the warm Indo-Pacific, from India to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
This species is most at home in mangroves and estuaries, where salt and fresh water mix. It can also move into rivers and small streams, though it spends much of its time among mangrove roots.
Banded Archerfish copes easily with both salt and fresh water, moving between inshore marine environments and rivers as conditions allow.
Young fish tend to gather in small groups around half-submerged logs and branches that hang over the water. Adults are sometimes seen alone, but can also form groups of up to about 20.
The body is silvery or silvery-yellow, with four to six dark, wedge-shaped bars along the upper half. The bars extend up into the dorsal fin, making this species fairly easy to recognise.
Banded Archerfish are active by day, watching for prey above the surface from just below the waterline. Few fish hunt quite the way they do.
Specific details about their breeding are not well recorded, but like other archerfish they are thought to spawn in coastal and estuarine waters.

Species Interaction

Banded Archerfish: The Spitting Fish People Love to Watch

Aquarium
Research & Rare Encounters
Ecosystem Role

The Banded Archerfish is best known to the public for its remarkable spitting behaviour, shooting jets of water at insects perched above the surface of mangroves and estuaries. This makes them a popular subject for wildlife photographers and ecotourists exploring northern Australia’s coastal wetlands. They are also kept in public aquariums and some private tanks, where their hunting behaviour can be demonstrated live. Research interest in their precision shooting has drawn attention from biologists studying sensory biology and ballistics.

Species
Sustainability

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Carangaria incertae sedis
Family: Toxotidae
Genus: Toxotes
Species: Toxotes jaculatrix

Conservation Status

The Banded Archerfish is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, reflecting a wide Indo-Pacific distribution and no evidence of significant population decline. In Australia, the species ranges from north-western Western Australia to northern Queensland and is not listed under the EPBC Act.