Crossword enthusiasts often encounter the question "Japanese-style fish with a land name." Almost everyone knows that this is sushi. However, this dish has nothing to do with amazing representatives of the fish family, who spend part of their life not in water, but on earth.
General information
Among the inhabitants of the underwater world there is a land fish called "mud jumper". It belongs to the family Gobiidae (genus Periophthalmus). It can be found in mangrove forests, that is, where there is a tidal wave in the territory of Southeast Asia, Africa and Australia. In nature, the natural enemies of these extraordinary creatures are most often predatory fish, water snakes and herons.
The mud jumper differs from other tropical fish not only in appearance, but also in behavior. He is able to swim in water, quite easily move on land and even jump. In this way, it resembles amphibians, but the presence of gill respiration still characterizes it as a fish. By the way, a curved tail helps him jump.
Description
The length of the mud jumper is no more than 20 cm. He has an elongated body, slightly flattened from the sides. Almost a third of the entire length is occupied by a large head. It is she who gives him a great external resemblance to the well-known bull, and this is clearly visible in the photo. Land fish are distinguished by their unusual round and convex eyes. They are able to increase in size, as well as turn each in its own direction. Mudskipper can alternately or simultaneously warm the eyes, while covering them with leathery folds that serve him for centuries. In addition, their very location on the head gives him the opportunity to look not from the sides, as ordinary fish do, but forward.
The body of the jumper has a dark color, but due to silver sequins can shimmer in different colors. He has extremely developed pectoral fins, which are more like arms. Leaning against the ground, land fish can move quite quickly. It has a large dorsal fin, while the ventral fused. She uses them as a suction cup when she needs to gain a foothold on a vertical surface, for example, climb a tree.
Food
Land fish cannot be under water all the time. However, constantly being on land is also uncomfortable for her. That is why, at high tide, she hides in minks, flooded with water, the depth of which averages no more than 20 cm. The rest of the time she prefers land, where she searches for food, digging in thick silt.
Perhaps the most favorite dish of this fish are various insects. Coastal silt is rich in a large variety of mollusks, crustaceans and worms, which she does not mind eating. The diet of jumpers also includes some types of algae.
Breeding
A land fish male usually attracts a female to her with the help of specific sounds reminiscent of singing, or with her jumps. And this, you see, is completely uncharacteristic for this group of aquatic animals. In the event that the male managed to interest the female, she creeps to him herself. Very often mud jumpers fight each other. Such fights may occur due to females or territory. At these moments, they begin to make special sounds, spread their dorsal fin and open their mouths wide.
Jumpers have internal fertilization. Females already attach caviar to the walls of those minks in which they wait for the tide. Protect the future offspring in turn. Usually a male digs such a hole. He makes 3-4 entries in it. Minks are flooded twice a day by a tidal wave, so you have to constantly clean it. Since thick sludge is very poor in oxygen, jumpers are often forced to bring air bubbles into their mouths, thereby creating its reserve supply.
