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Great blue spotted mudskipper
To keep their eyes moist out of water they retract their prominent eyes down into special fluid-filled cups, to stop them drying out. Mudskippers are the only fish that can blink!
Why do these fish dance on land?
- Spending as much as 90% of their time on land, Mudskippers have adapted how they move, breathe and see out of water.
- Their eyesight has adapted to see better in air than in water, so to catch a partner’s eye, mudskippers dance on land.
- The lenses in mudskipper’s eyes have become more flattened to see in air, meaning their underwater vision is poor.
How else are Mudskippers adapted to living on land?
- There are 24 species of mudskippers and they are all uniquely adapted to live out of water. Some can spend as much as two and a half days out of water.
- As well as breathing through their gills while in water on land, mudskippers can absorb oxygen directly from the air; through their skin and through the lining of their mouth – which is why they are often seen ‘gulping’ air.
- To move on land, these fish have adapted 'shoulder' joints which, along with modified fins enable them to walk, climb, jump and swim in a skipping motion known as ‘crutching’.
Mudskipper high jump
Mudskippers repeatedly jump to catch a female’s attention.
