New research reveals that cocky rainbow fish behave like matadors or bullfighters in the presence of their predators by darting away from them at the last moment to avoid being eaten.
Also known as Trinidadian guppy, this fish only spans less than an inch in length. They initially draw the attention of its predator - a larger pike cichlid - by darkening their eyes to stand out, making its eyes very conspicuous.
This tricks the pike into charging towards the head of the rainbow fish, but the latter swiftly whips away before swimming off.
Guppy the Marine Matador
Daily Mail reported that a team of British scientists performed the experiments in water tanks using robots to see how rainbow fish behaves when its predator is present. They saw that the fish uses its quick reflexes to whip its head out of the predator's way, then swims off.
The interaction between the two animals was so fast that only by using a high-speed camera can capture it. What's more surprising is that fish tend to approach their predator to see if they are hungry and pose a threat to them.
The lead author of the study, Dr Robert Heathcote, who undertook the study at the University of Exeter said that the predator cichlids are used to ambush their prey, lying in wait like a coiled spring before launching themselves at their prey.
The guppy uses its eyes to get the pike's attention and wait until the predator commits to its attack before swimming away.
According to Dr Heathcote, animals who dare to approach their predators are called 'predator inspection.' This behavior is commonly seen in fish and the mobbing behavior practiced by lots of birds and mammals.
A lot of animals are known to change their colors to such a noticeable degree as a form of communication, to attract mates, and advertise their toxicity so that predators do not eat them. But the team of marine scientists now propose that a new way of diverting the predators known as the 'matador strategy' may be used by other animals too.
Using the Eyes to Attract the Predators
According to the researchers, the eyes are the most easily recognized structures in the natural world, and many animals try to conceal their eyes to avoid getting the attention of their predators.
Their latest research on guppies gives a new insight into why the conspicuous ad colorful eyes have evolved.
The researchers tried a lot of experiments with guppies, including those that showed the eye color changes in guppy when threatened, and placed with hungry pikes in tanks.
"We used robotic guppies, to get real pike cichlids to attack, as well as model pike cichlids, to see what real guppies do when they encounter them," said Dr Heathcote. "Both the model cichlids and robotic guppies were made using resin casts of real animals, and the colors of the robots were matched to the specific visual system of the receiver," Dr Heathcote added.
They found that the animals behave in the same manner that they would do to the real because of the impressive replicas. They also observed that the real pikes ted to strike towards the head rather than the body as the robotic rainbow fish's eyes turned black.
They then proceeded to use real guppies and pikes and filmed their interactions with a high-speed camera.
The matador strategy was confirmed using the footage recorded by the camera and one interesting finding is that larger guppies are better at escaping than the smaller ones, according to their study which was published in the journal Current Biology.
