Projectile use by non-human organisms
Velvet worms can squirt out a slimy adhesive fluid from glands on the sides of their head, and use it to trap their prey.
The devil-rider stick insects (Anisomorpha) can fire terpenes from glands on the metathorax that can cause an intense burning irritation of the eyes and mouth of potential predators.
They can use this fontanellar gun accurately, over a range of many centimeters, even though the termite is blind, possibly using auditory or olfactory cues instead.
Some diptodactyline geckos can fire a black or pale yellow sticky fluid out of glands in their tail for a distance of about a meter, and with good aim.
This fluid has a musky unpleasant odour and although it is not toxic it may discourage predators, in particular the big arthropods that prey on these geckos.
With humans, they can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, and skin, and more dangerously, the lungs and airways, if inhaled.
[11] In gastropods, cone snails have modified radula tooth which is stored in the radular sac and at the end of proboscis, acting like a harpoon.
[12] One example of solid projectile use among mammals is the California ground squirrel, which is known to distract predators such as the rattlesnake and gopher snake from locating their nest burrows by kicking sand into their eyes.
[14] Orcas have been observed to throw seal prey using their tail flukes in apparent play behavior.
[24] A chimpanzee named Santino in a Swedish zoo was observed to stockpile stones to be used as missiles against visitors.
In chameleons, the tongue contracts against a tapered hyoid bone, eventually slipping off and projecting forward at very high speed.
When released, it snaps into the other part of the claw, emitting an enormously powerful wave of bubbles capable of stunning larger fish and breaking glass.
Similarly, the fruit of the sandbox tree burst open to disperse seeds, but the reaction is so violent that it can injure nearby people or livestock.
[34][35] This species is phototropic, and propels spores towards the nearest source of direct or reflected light, like the sides of brightly colored houses.
