FRESH-WATER FISHES OF SIAM, OR THAILAND 493 



Dr. Francis Day, who devoted more than a quarter of a century 

 to the investigation of the fishes of India and Burma and published 

 monumental works thereon, withheld from Toxotes any credit what- 

 ever for its extraordinary shooting ability and erroneously ascribed 

 to the coral-reef fish Chelmo the same ability. 



The original cause of misunderstanding as disclosed by the early 

 publications, and the perpetuation of the error by Bleeker, Day, and 

 others, was doubtless due, in part at least, to the fact that among the 

 Malays both Toxotes and Chelmo are called by the same name, sum'pit- 

 sumpit (from sumpitan^ a blowpipe). 



Several minor articles on the habits of Toxotes appeared in Euro- 

 pean periodicals in the last 2 or 3 years of the nineteenth century, 

 but it was not until the twentieth century had dawned that this fish 

 may be said to have come into its own. Observations of the Russian 

 ichthyologist Zolotnisky on the behavior of the fish in captivity fully 

 established the long-disputed habits. Zolotnisky's (1902) article was 

 made the basis for a critical review of a paper by Dr. Theodore Gill 

 (1909). The following facts regarding Toxotes were recorded by 

 Zolotinsky and have since been largely confirmed, although Gill found 

 it difficult to accept some of them : 



(1) The fish subsists largely on insects, which hover over the water or rest 

 on overhanging vegetation. When a fish approaches within a certain distance 

 of an insect, it becomes stationary, points its head and turns its eyes directly 

 at the prey, brings the front of its mouth to the surface of the water, partly opens 

 the mouth, and forthwith propels a drop, or several drops of water at the insect, 

 which ordinarily is 12 to 20 inches distant, but may be 40 inches or more. The 

 aim is true and the insect falls into the water and is at once devoured. 



(2) The fish frequently swims backward. This habit is often observed when 

 the fish reconnoiters a prospective prey, and backs from it in order to secure a 

 good position for observation and attack. 



(3) The eyes sparkle with seeming intelligence and their mobility is note- 

 worthy. They can be directed laterally, upward, and backward, but may not be 

 turned downward. 



(4) Aerial vision is acute. Even small insects may be seen at a great distance 

 and fall a prey to the fish's amazingly accurate aim. 



(5) Discrimination and selection are apparently exercised in the choice of food ; 

 considerable ingenuity is sometimes employed in obtaining food ; and in shooting 

 at insects the distance and the force are gauged. 



In recent years in America many people have become acquainted 

 with the archerfish and its performances through examples in aquaria 

 in New York, Philadelphia, and other cities ; and a motion picture of 

 a fish in action has been made at the New York Aquarium. The 

 present generation of fish students everywhere may be pardoned for 

 expressing surprise at the protracted skepticism, and wonder at the 

 failure of doubting Oriental ichthyologists to conduct practical tests. 



The doubt shown by zoologists of the last century in regard to the 

 reputed shooting powers of the fish was partly due to their failure to 



