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Walking fish
Meet the mudskipper. This special fish can walk on land!
They live in muddy land and skip on the mud. They skip using their strong, special fins.
What is the name of the fish?
What part of their body do they use to move on land?
What part of their body do they use to move on land?
Like all fish they have gills for breathing in water. But when they are out of water they can breathe through their skin. To breathe out of water they must keep their skin moist. To keep their skin moist they roll in mud.
How do they breathe in water?
How do they breathe out of water?
Why must they keep their skin moist?
How do they breathe out of water?
Why must they keep their skin moist?
They can use their strong fins to climb.
They also use their strong fins to jump.
They jump to attract a mate.
A female mudskipper lays her eggs in a deep hole in the mud.
Why do mudskippers jump?
A mudskipper is also special as it has eyes on the top of its head. (Most fish have eyes on the sides of their heads.)
Photo from Pixabay is in the public domain.
Mudskippers have excellent eyesight. This lets them see predators and prey from far away.
They like to eat small crabs, insects and worms.
Give two reasons why their excellent eyesight is important.
Fantastic facts
Some mudskippers can spend as much as two and a half days out of water.
Some mudskippers can spend as much as two and a half days out of water.
Mudskippers are the only fish that can blink!
Video by Polgar G, Malavasi S, Cipolato G, Georgalas V, Clack J, Torricelli P via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY 2.5.
What do mudskippers like to eat?
Mudskippers live in Africa, Asia and Australia.