Wildlife Village 19th March 2011

March 19, 2011 in Wildlife Village by Jan

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Good Morning Villagers

Well what can I say about these strange little creatures!! I have been chuckling away as I have been doing this post. I also found them so fascinating. I hope you enjoy it.

Mudskippers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mudskippers are members of the subfamily Oxudercinae (tribe Periophthalmini[1]), within the family Gobiidae (Gobies). They are completely amphibious fish, fish that can use their pectoral fins to walk on land.[2][3] Being amphibious, they are uniquely adapted to intertidal habitats, unlike most fish in such habitats which survive the retreat of the tide by hiding under wet seaweed or in tidal pools.[4]

Mudskippers are quite active when out of water, feeding and interacting with one another, for example to defend their territories.

They are found in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions,

including the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic coast of Africa.

Compared with fully aquatic gobies, these fish present a range of peculiar behavioural and physiological adaptations to an amphibious lifestyle. These include:

  • Anatomical and behavioural adaptations that allow them to move effectively on land as well as in the water.[3] As their name implies, these fish use their fins to move around in a series of skips. They can also flip their muscular body to catapult themselves up to 2 feet (60 cm) into the air.[5]
  • The ability to breathe through their skin and the lining of their mouth (the mucosa) and throat (the pharynx). This is only possible when the mudskipper is wet, limiting mudskippers to humid habitats and requiring that they keep themselves moist. This mode of breathing, similar to that employed by amphibians, is known as cutaneous air breathing.[4] Another important adaptation that aids breathing while out of water are their enlarged gill chambers, where they retain a bubble of air. These large gill chambers close tightly when the fish is above water, keeping the gills moist, and allowing them to function. They act like a scuba diver’s cylinders, and supply oxygen for respiration also while on land.[4]

  • Digging deep burrows in soft sediments allow the fish to thermoregulate,[6] avoid marine predators during the high tide when the fish and burrow are submerged,[7] and for laying their eggs.[8]

Even when their burrow is submerged, mudskippers maintain an air pocket inside it, which allows them to breathe in conditions of very low oxygen concentration.

The genus Periophthalmus is by far the most diverse and

widespread genus of mudskipper. Eighteen species have been described.[12][13][14] Periophthalmus argentilineatus is one of the most widespread and well known species. It can be found in mangrove ecosystems and mudflats of East Africa and Madagascar east through the Sundarbans of Bengal, South East Asia to Northern Australia, southeast China and southern Japan, up to Samoa and Tonga Islands.[1] It grows to a length of about 9.5 cm [1] and is a carnivorous opportunist feeder. It feeds on small prey such as small crabs and other arthropods.[15] Another species, Periophthalmus barbarus, is the only oxudercine goby that inhabits the coastal areas of western Africa.[1]

This clip is brilliant and no way long enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KurTiX4FDuQ

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESS” :Happy-Birthday:  Make-A-Birthday-Wish Flowers-for-you

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=2810025578999&source=jl999

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The Dyfi Osprey Project and the Scottish wildlife Trust  have kindly given their permission for us to post still and video images from their webcams. To visit their sites please click on the relevant link.    Loch of the Lowes.  Dyfi Osprey Project.


 


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