Mudskippers, the amazing fish that live on land

While some species of fish are not able to survive out of the water for short periods of time, the Mudskippers fish can survive happily  out of the water for hours, feeding, playing or fiercely defending territory. these fascinating fishes are found in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions, including the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic coast of Africa.

Mudskippers are members of the subfamily Oxudercinae , within the family Gobiidae (Gobies).

Just how are they able to pull off such a feat of living in between worlds?

When in the water, they breathe with their gills as most fish do. Before climbing out onto land, these fish fill their over-sized gill chambers with water, creating an oxygen tank that allows them to breathe out of water. On land, these fish also moisten their gills periodically by wiping them with their fins. To get additional air, mudskippers can also breathe through their blood capillary-rich skin, and blood-rich membranes in the back of the mouth and throat. They often keep their tails in water and roll in puddles to keep their skin moist.

Mudskippers are well adapted to the land life. In fact, Mudskippers’ fins  have adapted so they can walk, jump, swim, and climb. these fish also  use their fins to move around in a series of skips. They can also flip their muscular body to catapult themselves up to 2 feet into the air.

these fascinating fishes, thanks to their Anatomical and behavioural adaptations, are able to digg deep burrows in soft sediments allow the fish to thermoregulate, avoid marine predators during the high tide when the fish and burrow are submerged,and for laying their eggs.

Even when their burrow is submerged, mudskippers maintain an air pocket inside it, which allows them to breathe in conditions of very low oxygen concentration.

During the  mating season. The males become more vibrantly colored and do incredible acrobatics, including pushups, launching themselves into mid-air flips as high as two feet ( 60 cm) off the ground, and even standing on their tails. They also raise their dorsal fins, looking like tiny angry dinosaurs, to ward off competing males. If the warning doesn't work, then they fight.

The better the show of flipping, pushups and other acts of strength and agility, the more attractive the males are to females. The female then performs her own version of a mating ritual, and retreats into the male's burrow to lay her eggs. The male fertilizes them and takes over full responsibility for caring for them.

These fish live for above five years and grow to be between 3 inches to 9 inches long depending on species. the Mudskippers  are carnivorous opportunist feeder. It feeds on small prey such as small crabs and other arthropods.