Atlantic mudskipper

Periophthalmus barbarus · The Atlantic mudskipper is a semi-aquatic fish that lives in fresh, marine and brackish waters along the tropical Atlantic coasts of Africa.

Also called Jumbo Fish, Mud-hopper, Mud-skipper.

Atlantic mudskipper
Photo: Tanviralinbd, CC BY 4.0
Atlantic mudskipper
Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Atlantic mudskipper
Photo: Клеткин, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderGobiiformes
FamilyOxudercidae
GenusPeriophthalmus
SpeciesPeriophthalmus barbarus

Where it lives

Mudflats, mangroves and estuaries of West Africa, from Senegal to Angola.

Fun facts

  • This fish can skip, crawl and climb on land using its pelvic and pectoral fins.
  • Its eyes can move independently of each other through 360 degrees.
  • It catches prey on land by covering it with water and then sucking the water and prey back into its mouth, like a 'hydrodynamic tongue'.
  • It can breathe out of water by storing water in its gill chambers and by breathing through its skin.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).