Notice in regard to the Jaculator Fish. 163 



came out of their holes, and swam round and round the pond. 

 One of them came to the surface of tlie water, rested there, and 

 after steadily fixing its eyes for some time on an insect, it dis- 

 charged from its mouth a small quantity of watery fluid, with 

 such force and precision of aim, as to force it off the twig into 

 the water, and in an instant swallowed it. 



After this another fish came and performed a similar feat, and 

 was followed by the others, till they had secured all the insects. 

 I observed, that, if a fish failed in bringing down its prey at the 

 first shot, that it swam round the pond, till it came opposite to 

 the same object, and fired again. In one instance I observed 

 one of these animals return three times to the attack before it 

 secured its prey ; but, in general, they seemed to be expert gun- 

 ners, bringing down their prey at the first shot. 



I was informed that these fish were originally imported from 

 China, and are now the only specimens alive in Java, although, 

 about fifty years ago, they were in possession of several of the 

 Javanese chiefs. I could not learn their proper name ; the on- 

 ly one that I heard was the usual term for fish made use of by 

 the Javanese, viz. ' Icon." 



From the view we had of them, which was only in the 

 water, they appeared short, about five or six inches in length, 

 rather flat in the body, with blackish stripes variously inter- 

 spersed. 



The slaves of this chief fed the fish with insects regularly 

 twice a day in the manner I have described. 



This appears to me a novel species of instinct implanted into 

 these animals by the wise Author of Nature, enabling them to 

 secure their prey, by shooting in this manner those insects that 

 should happen to rest on any of the aquatic plants growing in 

 the ponds they inhabit^ and placed by their height out of their 

 reach. 



When they eject the water from their mouths, it is attended 

 by a noise like one spitting or squirting with a syringe. 



As I had no opportunity of examining these fish, I could not 

 say whether the fluid they squirted from their mouths was the 

 product of secretion, or merely the water from the jiond *. 



• The first account of this fish was published in the Transactions of the 

 Royal Society of London, voL liv. p. 89. It is contained in a letter to Mr P. 

 Collins, F. R. S. from J. A. Schlosser, M. D. F. R. S. The following is an 



l2 



