. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. Ph,ta by ir Sa Kent, ] THE MISCALLED ARCHER-FISH 5o named on account oj its supposed habn of shooting â orator ai insicts for food in India. The most beautiful of iMillord-an-Stn Emperor-fish, which ranges from the east coast of Africa to the Indian and Mala\-an seas. The ground-colour of the body is deep blue, relieved b}' some thirt}' golden-\-el!ovV stripes running from th(; shoulder backwards to the tail. Crossing the head is a crescent-shaped bar of blacis: edged with }'ello
. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. Ph,ta by ir Sa Kent, ] THE MISCALLED ARCHER-FISH 5o named on account oj its supposed habn of shooting â orator ai insicts for food in India. The most beautiful of iMillord-an-Stn Emperor-fish, which ranges from the east coast of Africa to the Indian and Mala\-an seas. The ground-colour of the body is deep blue, relieved b}' some thirt}' golden-\-el!ovV stripes running from th(; shoulder backwards to the tail. Crossing the head is a crescent-shaped bar of blacis: edged with }'ellow, whilst a similarly coloured patch runs upward from the pectoral fins to within a short distance of the top of the back. This species, which attains a length of 15 inches, is highl)'esteemed perhaps, is the zebra-fish of the Indo-Mala\-an seas, which has the ground-colour of yellow, striped with vertical bars of blue edged with brown, a yellow tail, and an anal fin barred with narrow blue lines. A tubed-shaped mouth is a common feature of the fishes of this group, and two Indian species in which this character is especially well developed have acquired the habit of shooting rherefrom a drop of water at insects resting on overhanging foliage fringing the sea or along the banks of rivers. Having sighted its quarry, it would seem the fish moves upwards to the surface of the water, and with careful aim ejects its liquid bullet with such unerring precision that its prey is invariabl}' knocked down and speedily seized. On this account these fishes are commonly known as Archer-FISHFS. The archer-fishes are sometimes kept in tubs of water, for the purpose of affording amusement to their captors. Somehow the shooting prowess of these fishes has been accredited to an allied form, shown in the above photograph. The peculiar shape of these fishes is sufficiently indicated by the photograph ahead}' mentioned, but a large series would be neccssar)' to show the numerous variations, some of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecad, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectzoology
