Atlantic Mudskipper
The Atlantic mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus) is an amphibious fish of West African mangroves and mudflats that spends much of its life out of water. It walks and skips across mud on its fins and breathes air.
The Atlantic mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus) is an amphibious fish of West African mangroves and mudflats that spends much of its life out of water. It walks and skips across mud on its fins and breathes air.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Atlantic Mudskipper in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Vertebrates lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
A Fish Out of Water: How Does It Breathe?
Mudskippers absorb oxygen through their moist skin and the lining of the mouth and throat, and they carry water in enlarged gill chambers, holding their breath like a diver. They must keep their skin damp, and they roll in puddles.
Walking on Fins
Strong, muscular pectoral fins let the fish prop itself up and crutch across the mud. Its periscope-like eyes sit on top of the head and can be retracted. The behavior hints at how early land vertebrates might have moved.
Burrows and Territories
Males dig burrows that trap air for the eggs, defend territories and perform leaping courtship displays on the mud at low tide.
Atlantic Mudskipper at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Periophthalmus barbarus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Gobiiformes |
| Family | Oxudercidae |
| Field Guide group | Marine and Freshwater Fish |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Muscular limb-like pectoral fins for terrestrial crawling, protruding periscopic eyes with dermal cups, dermal gill respiration. |
| IUCN Red List status | Least Concern (LC), assessed 2020 |
| Family | Oxudercidae |
| Habitat | West African mangroves and mudflats |