Mudskippers

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Mudskippers
African mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus)

African mudskipper ( Periophthalmus barbarus )

Systematics
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order : Gobies (Gobiiformes)
Family : Oxudercidae
Subfamily : MUDSKIPPER (Oxudercinae)
Genre : Mudskippers
Scientific name
Periophthalmos
Bloch & Schneider , 1801

Mudskippers ( Periophthalmus ) are an amphibious species of fish from the family of Oxudercidae within the goby-like (Gobiiformes). The scientific name Periophthalmus comes from the Greek and was given because of the high set eyes, which enable a good all-round view ("peri" = around, on all sides; "ophthalmos" = eye).

distribution

Mudskippers colonize the mangrove forests and brackish water from East Africa to Northern Australia to Samoa . Further north they occur to Korea and Japan . One species, Periophthalmus barbarus , lives on the coasts of West Africa.

features

Mudskippers grow to be 5 to 16.5 cm long. They have an elongated body that is slightly flattened at the back, and erect eyes that rise well above the head profile, as well as two clearly separated dorsal fins . The eyes are close together and have a folded lower eyelid that can be used to moisten and wipe the eye regularly. With their pectoral fins attached to a long, muscular lobe , they can hop on land. The ventral fins can be connected to one another or completely separated by a membrane between the fifth fin rays . The caudal fin is asymmetrical and has thickened lower fin rays. No sensory channels are visible on the head . The mouth is horizontal and has a row of teeth in each jaw. Mudskippers are covered with small cycloid scales or slightly ctenoid scales.

Way of life

The mudskippers are amphibious fish and spend most of their time out of the water. As the only representative of the mudskippers relatives inhabiting Periophthalmus TYPES also higher lying coastal sections with solid mud floor, soft almost "afraid of water" at incoming tide back and climb it even the roots of the mangroves . They are more carnivorous than their relatives, who mainly eat vegetal growth, and they prey on invertebrates, especially insects and small crustaceans . Mudskippers dig branched tunnels into the ground, into which they retreat in case of danger and where they also reproduce.

Periophthalmus cantonensis
Indian dwarf mudskipper ( Periophthalmus novemradiatus )

species

There are 19 types:

Three other species that were previously assigned to this genus differ mainly in having two rows of jaw teeth and are now listed under the generic name Periophthalmodon (Bleeker, 1874):

  • Periophthalmodon freycineti (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
  • Periophthalmodon schlosseri (Pallas, 1770)
  • Periophthalmodon septemradiatus (Hamilton, 1822)

literature

  • Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels & Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume 2. ISBN 9789074752213 .
  • Hans Horsthemke: Periophthalmus , Periophthalmus argentilineatus. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Ed.) The large lexicon of aquaristics. 2 volumes. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , Volume 2, p. 761.

Web links

Commons : Periophthalmus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Periophthalmus on Fishbase.org (English)
  2. ↑ Periophthalmodon on Fishbase.org (English)