What the spitting archerfish might tell us about small-brain intelligence
The archerfish can spit water with remarkable accuracy at targets up to six feet away, giving it the evolutionarily advantageous ability to hunt prey on land from the water. Even more intriguing is the idea that archerfish can recognise faces and use water as a tool, making them part of an extremely small – but apparently growing – club of animals with a particular sort of intelligence. Informed by a study published in Nature in 2016, this short video from Deep Look probes what the archerfish can tell us about the increasingly dubious link between brain size and intelligence. Read more about the video at KQED Science.
Video by KQED Science and PBS Digital Studios
Producer: Elliott Kennerson
Narrator and Writer: Amy Standen
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
videoBiology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
videoCognition and intelligence
A father forgets his child’s name for the first time in this poetic reflection on memory
4 minutes
videoBiology
‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one
11 minutes
videoEvolution
The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo
6 minutes
videoBiology
Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short
3 minutes
videoEcology and environmental sciences
The tree frog die-off that sparked a global mystery – and revealed a dark truth
15 minutes
videoEcology and environmental sciences
GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds
6 minutes