Page 46 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

46 ATLAS OF THE WORLD’S STRANGEST ANIMALS

Comparisons

All mudskippers can be identified by the size, shape and colour of their spotted mudskipper (Periophthalmus chrysospilos), the dramatic front ray
fins.The Atlantic mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus), for instance, has an may be twice the height of the fish’s body.And the dorsal fin of
elongated dorsal fin, stretching across much of its back. In the gold- Periophthalmus koelreuteri is curled, making it appear delightfully leaflike.

Atlantic mudskipper Gold-spotted mudskipper Periophthalmus koelreuteri

Mudskippers belong to a large, but relatively unstudied jump, flip their bodies through the air, and – as their
group of fish known as gobies. Gobies first appeared on name suggests – they can even skip across land with
Earth around 30–50 million years ago and, since then, they surprising speed.All this is possible thanks to some very
have become one of the most successful and diverse fish special physical adaptations.
families (Gobiidae). Currently there are thought to be as
many as 2000 species, and they can be found all over the Land lubbers
world, except in the waters of the Arctic, the Antarctic and Any species that moves from water on to land has two
the deep oceans. In fact, these strikingly coloured fish major obstacles to overcome: breathing and walking!
prefer life in the shallows. Many make their homes on
coral reefs, around sandy shores or on the shallow
continental shelves that run along the coasts of Africa, Mudskipper habitats
India, south-east Asia and northern Australia.
At some point in the distant past, the ancestors of today’s
mudskippers moved into even shallower waters, probably
to avoid predators as well as to exploit new, untapped food
reserves.The descendants of these ‘amphibious’ fish can
now be found on mud flats and in brackish, mangrove
swamps, throughout the world’s tropical, subtropical and
temperate regions. Here, they can often be seen at low
tide, skipping and hopping across the water-logged
ground. But perhaps the most remarkable thing about
these fish is that they don’t simply flap around in the
shallows like the proverbial fish out of water.
In the water, these bog-eyed beasts swim with side-
to-side movements, just like any other gobie, but it’s on
land that they are at their most astounding.They are
incredibly active and agile.They can dig, run, climb,

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.