Mudskipper: Walking Fish

Mudskipper: Walking Fish
Unlike most fish, mudskippers spend much of their life OUT of water! How do they do it? Mudskippers are fish and so they have gills. Once out of the water, their gills begin to dry out and stick together, so mudskippers have a special cavity behind their ears where sea water is stored. As they rotate their eyes, pressure is applied to that cavity and this reoxygenates the stored water, lubricates the gill flaps and restores the gills to their normal function.

Mudskipper eyes are remarkable! These amphibian-like fish have large eyes mounted on top of their heads. This allows for a fantastic panoramic view. The eyes are protected by a clear layer of skin. Since they have no tear ducts to keep their eyes moist, they alternately roll their eyes backwards into their sockets!

Mudskippers have highly modified large pectoral (front) fins which are used like legs. Instead of swimming like most fish, mudskippers use their pectoral fins to walk on land and under the water.

Watch:
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/mudskippers

Paper:
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/141202/ncomms6594/full/ncomms6594.html

Know more:
http://mudskippers.org/
http://www.vexen.co.uk/holyshit/mudskipper.html

Image via head like an orange

#mudskippers   #amphibians   #coolcreatures