492 BULLETIN 188, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



men. Designated as "the jaculator or shooting fish, a name alluding 

 to its nature," the creature was described as follows : 



It frequents the shores and sides of the sea and rivers, in search of food 

 When it spies a fly sitting on the plants, that grow in shallow water, it swims 

 on to the distance of four, five, or six feet, and then, with surprizing dexterity, 

 it ejects out of its tubular-mouth a single drop of water, which never fails strik- 

 ing the fly into the sea, where it soon becomes its prey. 



The relation of this uncommon action of this cunning fish raised the gover- 

 nor's curiosity ; though it came well attested, yet he was determined, if possible, 

 to be convinced of the truth, by ocular demonstration. 



For that purpose, he ordered a large wide tun to be filled with sea-water ; 

 then had some of these fish caught, and put into it, which was changed every 

 other day. In a while, they seemed reconciled to their confinement; then he 

 determined to try the experiment. 



A slender stick, with a fly pinned on at its end, was placed in such a direction, 

 on the side of the vessels, as the fish could strike it. 



It was with inexpressible delight, that he daily saw these fish exercising their 

 skill in shooting at the fly, with an amazing velocity, and never missed the mark. 



Unfortunately for the accuracy of the record, the fish to which 

 Hommel referred and the specimen that he sent to London were en- 

 tirely different species. Appended to the article was a copy of a de- 

 scription given in 1754 by Linnaeus of a species called Chaetodon ros- 

 tratuin (known in later years as Ghelmo rostratus) ^ and the accom- 

 panying plate was of that fish of the coral reefs. There were thus 

 precipitated the misunderstanding and doubt concerning this fish that 

 lasted for nearly a century and a half. 



A second communication on this fish by Dr. Schlosser (1767) con- 

 tained a description in Mr. Hommel's own words and gave additional 

 information on the fish's peculiar habits. Dr. Schlosser at this time 

 presented another specimen, and a description of it under the name 

 Sciaena jaculatrix was given by the German zoologist Pallas. A poor 

 but easily recognizable illustration accompanied the article. The al- 

 location of the species with the sciaenid fishes was unfortunate, and in 

 1817 Cuvier corrected the error and established the genus Toxotes for 

 its reception. 



During practically the whole of the nineteenth century there seem to 

 have been no new observations on the shooting powers attributed to 

 the archerfish and no confirmation of the statements made by Hommel 

 in 1765 and 1767. On the contrary, the leading authorities on Orien- 

 tal fishes denied that the fish did or could perform as claimed. 



Dr. Pieter Bleeker, who spent more than 35 years studying the 

 fishes of the Orient, was the author of more than 400 volumes and 

 papers thereon, and was long a resident of the same city (Batavia) as 

 Hommel. He was unable to verify the early accounts of the jaculator 

 fish and in 1875 expressed the belief that it did not deserve the celebrity 

 that had been imposed on it and that its reputation was based on error 

 of observation. 



