28o SMITHSONIAN M ISC ELLA NEIOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 52 



This conclusion was quite generally accepted afterwards. It was 

 apparently justified by the absence of any special physiological apti- 

 tude in the mechanism of the mouth and throat of the fish itself for 

 shooting drops. Nevertheless, at last, in 1902,^ a Russian ichthy- 

 ologist, N. Zolotnitsky, Avho had secured a number of living speci- 

 mens from Singapore, fully corroborated the discredited account and 

 gave many new and interesting details.- So remarkable — almost in- 

 credible — are some of the statements that they should perhaps be 

 given in the observer's own words ; they are here paraphrased so as 

 to give his meaning, but with considerable alteration in the sequence 

 of the paragraphs to accord with that adopted for other species. 



Ill 



The Archers are gregarious fishes, not consorting indeed in very 

 large compact shoals like herrings, but in small and loose companies. 

 Considerable activity is often displayed and they may jump entirely 

 out of water; leaps, it has been claimed, sometimes extend to as 

 high as 13 or 14 feet ("4 metres de hauteur"), but this is incredible. 

 This activity is generally guarded against by would-be captors of the 

 fish who surround the efifective net with another or perhaps still 

 more nets. 



They frequently swim backwards as well as forwards. This 

 habit of swimming! backwards, remarks Zolotnitsky, is very curious 

 and quite customary ; indeed, they often swim in this manner for 

 several minutes at a time. They reconnoiter a possible prey and 

 back from it until they secure a good position for observation or 

 attack. The eyes work in harmony. 



IV 



The action of the eyes deserves special notice. They can be 

 moved in almost every direction — to the left, to the right, upwards 

 and backwards — backwards so that the fish can see everything that 

 goes on behind. Their vision is also very penetrating; they can see 

 small insects at a great distance and drench them with astonishing 

 correctness of aim. But the eyes can not be turned downwards 

 and consequently, when the fish would see what is below, it plunges 



' The habit was recognized by some able men. H. Milne-Edwards, for in- 

 stance, in his admirable Legons sur la Physiologie (xiii, p. 502, 1879), ac- 

 cepted the old statement without any expression of doubt. 



* Zolotnitsky (N.). Le Poisson Archer (Toxotcs jaculator) en Aquarium. 

 in Archives Zool. Exper. et Gen. (3), x, 1902, pp. Ixxiv-lxxxiv. 



