About 25 species of amphibious gobies that live on tropical mudflats and in mangroves, spending much of their time out of water. Their eyes sit on top of the head, and limb-like front fins let them crawl, skip across the mud and climb low branches.
Quick answers
What is it?Fish
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inAfrica, Asia, Australia, Madagascar
HabitatWetland, Coast
ColoursBrown, Grey
SizeTiny
LengthUp to 30 cm
LegsNone
Covered inSkin
Lives ingroups
Lives for5 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- The Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic coast of Africa. One widespread species runs from East Africa and Madagascar to Southeast Asia, northern Australia, southern China and Samoa.
- What it eats
- It varies by species: some eat detritus from the mud, others small crabs, insects, snails and even other mudskippers.
Did you know
A fish that walks on land, climbs trees and breathes through its skin.
It can leap up to 61 cm by flexing its body and pushing with its tail.
Males dig burrows in the mud, and some species keep an air pocket inside when the tide covers them.
Often confused with
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