Knowra Mudskipper Mudskipper A mudskipper is an amphibious goby that lives on tidal mudflats and can move across land using its fins and tail. It remains active out of water by keeping its skin and gill chambers moist.
Cutaneous respiration : Gas exchange across the skin, which supplements or replaces breathing through specialized respiratory organs. Moist skin lets mudskippers absorb oxygen while exposed to air.
Gobiidae : A large family of small fishes that includes gobies adapted to marine, brackish, and freshwater habitats. Mudskippers are members of this diverse fish family.
Periophthalmus : A genus of mudskippers known for large eyes and active movement on exposed mudflats. Several familiar mudskipper species belong to this especially terrestrial genus.
Walking catfish : An air-breathing catfish capable of moving over land using body flexion and its pectoral girdle. It is another land-moving fish, but uses a different body plan and belongs to a separate lineage.
Branchial chamber : A cavity enclosing the gills in many fishes, helping protect them and regulate water flow. Mudskippers retain water in these chambers to keep their gills functional on land.
Intertidal zone : The coastal area alternately covered and uncovered by tides. Mudflats expose mudskippers to both aquatic and terrestrial conditions.
Atlantic mudskipper : A mudskipper species, Periophthalmus barbarus, found along the eastern Atlantic coast of Africa. Its behavior illustrates how mudskippers feed and defend territories on exposed shores.
Climbing perch : An Asian freshwater fish that can survive out of water and travel short distances over wet ground. Like mudskippers, it tolerates terrestrial exposure, but is not a mudflat-adapted goby.
Buccopharyngeal respiration : Gas exchange through the moist lining of the mouth and throat. Air held in the mouth and throat provides another surface for oxygen uptake.
Mudflat : A broad, low-gradient coastal area of fine sediment exposed at low tide. This is the characteristic habitat where mudskippers forage, court, and shelter.
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