African mudskipper
| African mudskipper | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
African mudskippers on the coast of The Gambia . |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Periophthalmus barbarus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1766) |
The African mudskipper ( Periophthalmus barbarus ), also known as the Atlantic mudskipper , is an amphibious fish from the group of gobies (Gobiiformes) that occurs on the West African coast from Senegal to Angola and on the coasts of the islands in the Gulf of Guinea . Along with 17 species of Indo-Pacific mudskippers, it is the only mudskipper to be found on an Atlantic coast.
features
The African mudskipper becomes a maximum of 14.5 to 16.5 cm long. Reports of specimens 25 cm in length are based on confusion with other goby species. It has an elongated body, close together and upright eyes, two clearly separated dorsal fins and muscular pectoral fins with which it can hop on land. The horizontally standing mouth is large and reaches under the middle of the eye. A fold of skin hangs over the upper lip. The anterior nostrils are tubular and reach the level of the lower lip, the posterior ones are small and slit-shaped. The upper edge of the gill cover , the front gill cover , the region between the eyes and the base of the pectoral fin are covered with small round scales. The scales in front of the first dorsal fin extend to the rear edge of the eyes.
- Fins formula : dorsal 1 X – XI, dorsal 2 I / 10–13, anal I / 8–10, pectoral 13–14.
- Scale formula : mLR 86–107.
The first dorsal fin is higher than the second. The base of the fin of the second is longer than the distance from its rear end to the beginning of the caudal fin. The pelvic fins are fused together by a fin membrane on their fifth, segmented fin ray . The caudal fin is asymmetrical, the upper rays are longer.
African mudskippers are brownish, russet, or olive green in color, with sloping dark transverse bands and a lighter belly. On the flanks and the sides of the head you can see small blue dots. The dorsal fins have a bright, blue-white outer edge and a dark band underneath. The anal fin is whitish, sometimes with small dark spots. The caudal fin is dark, the lower part a little lighter.
Way of life
The African mudskipper occurs mainly in brackish water , in lagoons , estuaries and mangroves on muddy bottoms and sometimes also goes into the fresh water of river underflows. It feeds mainly on crustaceans and insects , as well as plant material. He spawns in caves he has dug himself.
literature
- Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels & Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume 2. ISBN 9789074752213
Web links
- African mudskipper on Fishbase.org (English)
- Periophthalmus barbarus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Bousso, T., Lalèyè, P. & Moelants, T., 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2013.