Most fish spend almost all of their lives in a body of water, be it the ocean or some smaller lake or stream. Mudskippers, on the other hand, are a unique type of fish. Just as their name implies, mudskippers spend almost all of their lives outside of the water, scurrying about on the muddy sandbanks of beaches.
Unlike most other fish, mudskippers have naturally adapted to live on land. Not only can be breathe air, but they take advantage of the muddy sand around them by rolling around in it occasionally to keep their skin moist.
Some mudskippers find refuge in self-dug holes just beneath the beach’s surface, and the ocean’s waves continuously cycle water into the sand to keep the fish from drying out and dying. Others will venture out of their holes in search of food, which consists of smaller algae, smaller critters, and marine plants.
Anyone who’s ever witnessed mudskippers before may be familiar with the fish’s ‘jumping’ behavior, and this is a means of finding mates. Doing so gets males noticed by females and males alike. Males typically hope to find a viable female mate when conducting this behavior, but when other males take notice, it can turn into a territorial battle.
