the.com/mudskipper
the fish that quit the ocean, learned to walk, and refuses to apologize
means A small amphibious fish that uses its muscular front fins to crawl, hop, and skip across mudflats, breathing air and spending much of its time out of water in tropical and subtropical estuaries and mangroves.
from A plain English compound, exactly what it says on the tin: "mud" plus "skipper," because the creature skips and skitters across the muck. "Skipper" here comes from the verb "skip" (to bound or leap lightly, a Middle English word possibly of Scandinavian origin) — the same root behind a ship's skipper, who was imagined as one who hops or moves briskly about. The name is descriptive and modern, recording an obvious habit rather than any ancient lore.
- breathes skin
- absorbs oxygen through skin and mouth lining on land
- eye blink
- rolls eyes into sockets to keep them moist
- tree climber
- scales mangrove roots using muscular pectoral fins
- oxygen pockets
- carries air bubbles in burrows for underwater breathing
- courtship leaps
- males jump and flip to impress watching females
periophthalmus barbarus — west african mudskipper species that walks on mud flats using its pectoral fins, found in mangroves from senegal to angola
boleophthalmus boddaerti — indo-pacific mudskipper that can jump up to 2 feet and lives in southeast asian tidal zones
oxudercis dentatus — australian mudskipper species with protruding teeth, inhabits mangrove swamps along the indo-pacific coast