From the depths of time, a creature emerges, something fishy.
It’s the majestic mudskipper.
They might look like an evolutionary glitch – as if a fish pressed pause in the middle of evolving into something else.
But this is no mistake – the mudskipper is very well-suited for this lumpy mudscape.
And it absolutely lives up to its name.
A type of amphibious fish, there are dozens of species of mudskippers hopping around the humid, intertidal mudflats in mangrove forests from West Africa to New Guinea.
And in North Queensland, Australia, we found a few of these beauties living side-by-side.
Those puffy cheeks aren’t just for cuteness.
Mudskippers don’t have lungs, they fill their gill chambers with water and a bubble of air – then seal them tightly. That air bubble keeps the water oxygenated.
Like frogs and other amphibians, they also absorb oxygen through their skin – via cutaneous respiration – and through the lining in their mouths.
That’s how these fishy friends can spend about three-quarters of their lives out of water.
But they do need to stay wet.
With each blink, the mudskipper submerges its periscope-like eyeballs in fluid-filled chambers to hydrate and wash off debris.
Researchers think this may be a clue as to why and how blinking evolved in land animals.
With their sharp little chompers, they snatch and slurp down just about anything that fits in their mouths: other fish, insects, worms, and even small crabs.
This mudskipper works hard to defend his mudpatch. It’s in a prime location with the very best mud.
He needs to stay vigilant to fend off jealous neighbors who’d love to take over the lease.
Or eat them for lunch.
When a predator shows up, they use their trademark skips to bounce.
You thought you knew what fins are for.
You. Have. No. Idea.
There are lots of novel ways to use those fishy appendages.
Those pelvic fins in the front act kind of like a kick-stand. Or a “fish stand.”
Male mudskippers do the work of building and maintaining cozy, safe burrows for the females to lay their eggs in.
But first they need to get their attention.
Ooh la-la!
This species – a bearded mudskipper – prefers to show off its acrobatic tail-stands.
Plus these guys have an extra fancy back fin.
It says “back off” or “come hither,” depending on the context. Fighting or mating?
But these species – the barred mudskipper and the Takita’s mudskipper – get airborne.
The higher, the better. These are fitness displays.
This guy will face off against competitor mudskippers by showing females just how strong and capable he is.
Get it, skipper boy!
If the male’s doing it right, she’ll pick his burrow, and deposit her eggs on the ceiling or walls inside the chamber.
The male then fertilizes the eggs. Over the next week, as they develop and hatch, he fiercely defends the burrow from poachers and other mudskippers.
He’s securing his legacy. The next generation of artful exhibitionists will inherit this muddy paradise.
The Magnificent Mudskipper is literally a fish out of water, but this fish is totally comfortable in his own slimy skin.
