Periophthalmus kalolo (P. koelreuteri africanus)
As a kid, the first time I learned about the existence of mudskippers, or mudhoppers, I was flabbergasted. Here was a fish-out-of-water that actually didn’t mind that at all! To this day I still find the idea absolutely fascinating. Mudskippers are amphibious fish that can survive out of water for considerable lengths of time by holding oxygenated water in their gill chambers and “breathing” through their wet skin and throat. Their pelvic fins are fused into suckers, allowing them to attach themselves to rocks and branches. And if that wasn’t astounding enough, they can use their fins and tails as legs and actually walk, run, hop, skip and jump on dry land!
The African Mudhopper is a small fish, growing to a maximum of about 14cm in length. They are carnivorous, feeding mainly on crustaceans, other invertebrates and smaller fish and spending most of their time looking for food on land rather than in water. When resting they usually do so with their tails in the water and bodies on the shore. Mudskippers live in the intertidal zone of river mouths, lagoons and estuaries, where the influence of the river, sea and tides conspire to create a challenging and constantly changing world of varying salinity and water levels. When their preferred mud flats become inundated by the incoming tide they hide from predatory fish in burrows that they dig themselves or they may use those of other creatures, like crabs, for the purpose. Males are territorial and display their colourful fins prominently to intimidate challengers and attract mates. Females lay their eggs inside the male’s nesting tunnels after mating, and the pair then cares for the eggs until they hatch.
The alternative name of “Common Mudskipper” is actually much more appropriate for this species, as they occur widely along the Indian and Pacific Ocean coastlines of Africa, Asia and Australasia. In our experience one of the very best places in our country to see these unique fish is the boardwalk through the mangrove swamp at Umlalazi Nature Reserve on the Kwazulu-Natal north coast.
Ek wonder… hoe sal ‘n klompie mooi grootes smaak op die braai? Klaar gesout! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Baie modderig sou ek dink… 😀
LikeLike
Ek spoeg al klaar… maar, as die mense in die ooste kan poffervissies eet, wie weet, kan modderspringers dalk ‘n nuwe gier raak! 😛
LikeLike
Shame, ek gun dit die vissies glad nie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love to travel and your posts take me to very interesting places. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’re very happy to oblige, thank you Carla Maria!
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are SO CUTE! Surely they make you/everyone smile when you watch them? I can see them personified in their own cartoon series, perhaps with big goals, like environmental champions that find ways to make the villains repent!
(No more coffee tonight, Lisa….)
I’m writing off line and will send this tomorrow – the show is finished, so now am transporting paintings back to the house – an hour btwn the locations.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you had better pitch the idea to some Hollywood executives, Lisa – imagine Spongebob Squarepants with Molly Mudskipper…
😀
They are absolutely delightful to behold.
Hope all went well with the exhibition?
LikeLike
Very interesting and these little guys are more than worthy of their own post. Couldn’t help thinking that they resemble a fish-frog hybrid!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know where they fit in the evolutionary tree – what their ancestors were and whether any other extant fish families developed from them – except that they’re considered by some authorities to belong in the goby-family. But I don’t think your description as a “fish-frog hybrid” is entirely off the mark as they certainly give us a glimpse into the distant past when fish started evolving into amphibians, and I find that fascinating!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It certainly is fascinating – and they do seem to have found their niche!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite the little personalities with eyes appropriately perched atop their heads. Fascinating creatures. I thinks kids young and not so young should all be flabbergasted… wonderful story and facts. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad to know I am not the only one that’s astounded by these other-worldly creatures, Jane! 😀
LikeLike
Amazing creatures!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to know you find them as amazing as I do, Montucky!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wou eers die pos oorslaan maar die naam trek toe die heeltyd my aandag. Het al gehoor/gesien op TV maar nooit regtig lewendig gesien nie. Interessante vis nog vlees as mens dit so kan noem!
LikeLike
Vir n vis het hul n fassinerende lewensstyl, so uniek dat dit my heeltemal verstom!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ek glo nie ek het al ooit een gesien nie! Wys jou net hoe onoplettend mens soms is. Hulle is regtig nie by ons dam nie? Seker net naby die see.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dit is reg, Una – modderige rivermondings en lagoons is waar jy hulle gaan sien, daar waar die seewater en varswater meng met die in-en-uit van die getye.
LikeLike
Never heard of these before but learned a lot and am amazed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Then I am very glad that we could introduce you to the African Mudhopper, Ruth!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the name.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very apt – I wish you could see them in real life!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gosh, I haven’t seen one of these for years!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Are there areas in the Eastern Cape where they are, or were, easily seen, Anne?
LikeLike
I spent years living in KZN and saw them there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Anne – apart from Umlalazi, where do you know of that’s good places to go looking for them in KZN?
LikeLike
I haven’t explored those areas for over forty years now so can’t be sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a weird-looking creature. Quite surreal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My sentiments exactly, Sylvia – the idea of a fish walking around on land is so other-worldly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmmm…..I wonder what fish think about humans swimming in their water. 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
Getting back to our roots! 😀
Considering what else we do to their water the swimming is probably only a minor irritation!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true, Dries. 😳
LikeLiked by 1 person
This mudhopper absolutely is amazing! I wonder if the fish ancestors of humans were like that when they began to leave the oceans to live on land.
LikeLiked by 2 people
They really do seem like a link back to a world hundreds of millions of years in the past, don’t they Hien?
LikeLike
they are so cute
LikeLiked by 1 person
I suppose its those bulging eyes!?
LikeLike
A very unusual and interesting fish.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Almost out of this world! Thanks Maralee.
LikeLike