Nature's Most Surprising Projectiles

Researchers conducted experiments training archerfish to respond to images of specific human faces, testing whether these fish could perform facial recognition despite lacking the brain structures typically associated with this ability.

Archerfish face a fundamental physics challenge when targeting aerial prey—light experiences refraction as it passes from air to water, causing prey to appear in a different location than its true position.

Archerfish rely on social learning to hone their shooting skills, becoming better marksmen over time through both practice and observation of other individuals.

Archerfish face extraordinary visual challenges when hunting in natural mangrove environments, yet successfully identify and target prey despite multiple obstacles and distortions.

Archerfish inhabiting watery mangrove forests of the Indo-Pacific demonstrate unique hunting abilities, with sizes ranging from 12 to 18 centimeters on average, up to 40 centimeters in the largest species.

Fungi represent organisms completely incapable of movement, yet genera like Pilobolus and Sphaerobolus have evolved some of the fastest projectile mechanisms in the natural world for spore dispersal.

Pilobolus fungi, commonly known as “dung cannon fungus,” colonize animal dung and have evolved one of the fastest projectile mechanisms in the natural world to complete their life cycle.

Sphaerobolus fungi, commonly called “artillery fungus,” grow on surfaces including wood chips, leaf litter, and animal dung, producing tiny fruiting bodies with remarkably powerful spore dispersal mechanisms.