Wild World Wednesday ~ the Mudskipper

We live in a wild world. Today we are visiting the banks of the Pacific ocean to catch a glimpse of the frog-faced fish called a mudskipper. Keep your eyes peeled, we may find him lurking in the brackish mangrove swamps or on the mud flats after the tide has gone out.

Fish Can Walk!

You may be saying…fish can’t walk, they swim; however, the mudskipper is the exception to the rule.

The mudskipper crawls and flaps its way across the shoreline using its tail and specially developed front fins. It’s 12-30 inches long with big protruding eyes and small gills, which holds water so it’s able to breathe on land. The mudskipper is olive brown in color with bluish markings. It prefers food found on land like, flying insects, crabs and other small creatures.

Wild World Fact…Mudskippers must remain moist and will roll in puddles on land and wipe a wet fin across their eyes so they don’t dry out.

Mud, Skip, Jump!

Mudskippers not only walk on land, they can also leap in the air by bending and suddenly straightening their bodies. This gives them the ability to reach up to 2 feet (half a meter) in height. The mudskipper can also climb mangrove trees in search of food. Because of these unusual actions, mudskippers have also been called kangaroo fish, climbing fish, mudhopper and johnny jumpers. To avoid predators and to lay their eggs, mudskippers will dig a deep burrow in the soft sediment.

Wild World Fact…Larger memebers of the mudskipper family can skip faster than most people can move.

For more information on this and other marine animals, check out your local library, the Internet or a Marine Life sanctuary.

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