This fish uses its fin as feet to walk on land

How do they walk?

Unlike most fish, mudskippers have strong, muscular pectoral fins that they use almost like arms. By planting their fins on the ground, they push themselves forward in a series of hops, almost like a frog. Some species can even scale vertical mudbanks and low-hanging branches using a combination of fin action and body wiggling.

Their walking ability isn’t just a party trick, it helps them escape predators, search for food, and find mates across the complex terrain of the intertidal zone.

Native to mangrove swamps and tidal flats in Africa, Asia, and Australia, mudskippers belong to a group of fish known as Gobiidae. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

They breathe air, too

The walking is impressive, but even more fascinating is how mudskippers manage to breathe air when they’re out of water. They do this in two ways:

• Through their skin and the lining of their mouth and throat — similar to how amphibians breathe.
• By storing water in their gill chambers, keeping their gills moist enough to function on land.

This means mudskippers can spend hours outside of water, making them one of the most land-savvy fish on the planet.

Studying mudskippers helps scientists understand how life might have first moved from water to land, millions of years ago. These fish offer a living example of the kinds of adaptations early vertebrates may have used during the evolutionary leap onto dry land.

Though small and often overlooked, the mudskipper’s quirky behaviour and hybrid lifestyle make it one of the most interesting animals on Earth.

From the homepage

‘Pakistan will have to consider if it wants to remain part of globe’: Army Chief warns against testing India’s resolve

‘Leader vanished, no remorse, it shows his and party’s mental state’: Madras High Court tears into Vijay’s TVK, faults govt leniency

Several dead in PoK unrest: The protesters’ demands, how Pakistan govt responded