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Banded archerfish vision: the science and the numbers

Toxotes jaculatrix · order Perciformes · Fish: all the numbers

The banded archerfish has 3 colour receptor classes (454, 568 and 574 nm), like most people.[1] Its sharpest vision resolves 13.3 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6]

See it on your photoBack to How does the banded archerfish see?
  • 3colour receptor classesMeasured*
  • 13.3cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured

The banded archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix) is a fish in the order Perciformes. Its eyes belong to the vision type Shallow-water fish tetrachromat: four cone types including ultraviolet and far red. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness and foveas. Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the banded archerfish sees: colour receptors

Banded archerfish colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmBanded archerfish: 3 receptor peaks at 454, 568, 574 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Banded archerfish: 454, 568, 574 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has three colour receptor classes, like most people.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 13.3 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the banded archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
3 receptor classes: 454 nm (SWS (blue)), 568 nm (LWS (long)), 574 nm (LWS (long))
species-v1.csv value measured in this species (not in tidy tables)
Measured (not re-verified)[1]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[2][3][4][5]
SharpnessAcuity
13.3 cycles per degree
median of 1 behavioural rows (method priority rule)
Measured[6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][8]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
32.85°
group default: median of tier-A values in vision type the "Shallow-water fish tetrachromat" type within phylum Chordata (2 species: Danio rerio, Notemigonus crysoleucas)
Group default[9]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[10][11]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[12]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[12]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[10][11]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
0
species-v1.csv text: ventrotemporal area (high RGC density)
Measured (not re-verified)[1]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[13]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[13]
Fovea type
ventrotemporal area (high rgc density)		Measured (not re-verified)[1]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
group default: mode of tier-A values in vision type the "Shallow-water fish tetrachromat" type within phylum Chordata (224 species: Amphiprion ocellaris, Acanthochromis polyacanthus, Acanthurus bahianus, Acanthurus…
Group default[14][15]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[16][17][18][2][19][20][21][15]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[22][23]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[24]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[16][17][18][2][19][20][21][15]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated		Group default[14][15]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
51 Hz
median of 26 relatives in order Perciformes: Dicentrarchus labrax, Thunnus albacares, Acanthochromis polyacanthus, Thunnus obesus, Centropristis striata, Chaetodipterus faber
Group default[25][26][27][28][29]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[30][28]

All fish side by side: Fish: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. Temple et al. 2010
  2. Longcore 2023
  3. Kirwan
  4. Müller et al. 2009
  5. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  6. Caves et al. 2024
  7. Kirk et al. 2004
  8. Veilleux et al. 2014
  9. Pita et al. 2015
  10. Heesy 2004
  11. Heffner et al. 1992
  12. Campbell & Green 1965
  13. Kopania et al. 2025
  14. Froese et al.
  15. Moura et al. 2024
  16. Anderson et al. 2017
  17. Borges et al. 2018
  18. Wilman et al. 2014
  19. Maor et al. 2017
  20. Jones et al. 2009
  21. Schmitz et al. 2011
  22. Banks et al. 2015
  23. Cervino et al. 2021
  24. Guareschi et al. 2025
  25. Horodysky et al. 2013
  26. Fogg et al. 2023
  27. Haarlem et al. 2026
  28. Inger et al. 2014
  29. Lafitte et al. 2022
  30. Healy et al. 2013

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.