As
a habit, I go to the beach for a walk every morning. As dirty as the beach is,
we rarely see any sea animals there – except crabs. But this morning, the tide
was low, and I ventured far into the water, in the hope of seeing something
more. And I did see something……
A
unique little creature.
The sand was wet, with many little puddles. And in
these puddles I could see some animals. They were brown in colour, about three
inches long, one inch thick. In water, they would wriggle continuously.
Occasionally, one would come out of the puddle, and jump about in the wet sand.
These
creatures were none other than the mudskippers.
They are amphibious fish. Yes, you got it right – amphibious fish. That means
they can live on land as well as in water. These are one of the few species of
fish that can survive when out of water.
We
are aware that most land animals breathe air through lungs. That is where we
get oxygen from. Fish have gills instead of lungs, and through these, they
absorb the oxygen dissolved in water. When most fish come out of water, the
walls of their gills stick together, so that they can no more breathe.
Ultimately they die.
But
what sets the mudskipper apart is its ability to breathe when out of water.
Like other fish it has got gills too. But around these gills it has large chambers
in which it can store water, with a bubble of air, before coming to land. So
although the mudskipper is on land, its gills are surrounded by water, so that
the walls don’t stick together.
The
mudskipper can also breathe through its skin, as long as the skin remains
moist. So it has to return to water time and again for a splash. In fact, some
mudskippers remain close to water, with their tails always dipped in water.
This led some early observers to believe that mudskippers breathe through their
tails!
Where
does the mudskipper get such a funny name from? Well – when on land, they use
their front fins to move about. Both the fins are used together, like a man
walking on crutches. They move about in a series of ‘skips’ - hence the name.
To attract females, the males may propel themselves into air as high as two
feet, with the help of these fins. Some can even stand on their tails!
Next
time you visit a beach during low tide, watch out for these little wonders……
Further
reading:
