Small-scaled archerfish

Small-scaled archerfish
	Small- scaled archerfish ( Toxotes microlepis )
Systematics
	Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
	Carangaria
Order :	Carangiformes
Family :	Toxotidae
Genre :	Archer fish ( Toxotes )
Type :	Small-scaled archerfish
Scientific name
	Toxotes microlepis
	Günther , 1860

The small- scaled archerfish ( Toxotes microlepis ) is a freshwater and brackish water fish that occurs in South Asia in the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins , on the Malay Peninsula as well as on Sumatra and Borneo .

features

It reaches a maximum length of 15 cm and is one of the smaller archer fish species. The body profile is much more curved on the belly than on the back. The eyes are large, the mouth is pointed. The single dorsal fin has four or five fin spines. At least six rows of scales lie between the base of the dorsal fin and the lateral line . The small-scaled archer fish is silvery colored, on the back rather yellowish. On the upper half of the body there are four to five elongated, horizontal, black bandages or triangular saddle spots, with small, black spots in between. The soft-radiating section of the dorsal fin is also spotted black.

Scale formula : SL 40–42, for specimens from the central Mekong region 34–37.

Way of life

The small-scaled archer fish lives mainly on the banks of large rivers in the shade of overhanging vegetation and is the most common archer fish species that occurs in the middle reaches of the rivers far away from the mouth. Like other archer fish species, it feeds primarily on terrestrial insects, which are "shot down" with a targeted jet of water, as well as aquatic insect larvae, small crustaceans and zooplankton .

swell

^ ^A ^b ^c Walter J. Rainboth, 1996. Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. FAO, Rome, 265 p. ISBN 92-5-103743-4 , page 190.
↑ Gerald R. Allen , 2004. Toxotes kimberleyensis , a new species of archerfish (Pisces: Toxotidae) from fresh waters of Western Australia . Rec. Aust. Mus. 56 (2): 225-230.

Web links

Commons : Small- scale archerfish ( Toxotes microlepis ) - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Small-scaled archerfish on Fishbase.org (English)

[Rainboth-1] A ^b ^c Walter J. Rainboth, 1996. Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. FAO, Rome, 265 p. ISBN 92-5-103743-4 , page 190.

[Allen-2] Gerald R. Allen , 2004. Toxotes kimberleyensis , a new species of archerfish (Pisces: Toxotidae) from fresh waters of Western Australia . Rec. Aust. Mus. 56 (2): 225-230.