Mudskipper
From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
 Periophthalmus modestus
SUMA Aqualife Park (Japan) |
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Mudskippers are members of the olmeferous family
These
- Anatomical and
- The ability to breathe through their skin and also through the lining of the mouth (the
- Digging of deep burrows in soft sediments that allow the fish to
Even when their burrow is submerged, mudskippers maintain an air pocket inside it, which allows them to breathe in conditions of environmental very low oxygen concentration.[7][8][9]
The diverse and widespread genus Periophthalmus is by far the most diverse genus of mudskipper. Seventeen species are currently recognised.[10] Periophthalmus argentilineatus is one of the most widespread and well known mudskippers. This species can be found in mangrove ecosystems and mudflats of East Africa and Madagascar east through South East Asia to Northern Australia, Southeast China and Southern Japan, up to Samoa and Tonga Islands.[11] It grows to a length of about 6 in (15 cm) and is a carnivorous opportunist feeder. It feeds on small prey such as small crabs and other arthropods.[12] Another species, Periophthalmus barbarus, is the only oxudercine goby that inhabits the coastal areas of Western Africa (Murdy, 1989). Both these mudskippers are widely traded as aquarium fish.
[edit] References
- ^ Murdy, E. O., Takita T. (1999). "Periophthalmus spilotus, a new species of mudskipper from Sumatra (Gobiidae: Oxudercinae)". Ichthyological Research 46 (4): 367–370.
- ^ a b (1997) Graham, J. B. (ed.) Air–breathing Fishes. Evolution, Diversity and Adaptation. San Diego California: Academic Press.
- ^ Harris, V.A. (1961). "On the locomotion of the mudskipper Periophthalmus koelreuteri (Pallas): Gobiidae". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 134: 107–135.
- ^ Tytler P. & Vaughan T. (1983). "Thermal Ecology of the Mudskippers Periophthalmus koelreuteri (Pallas) and Boleophthalmus boddaerti (Pallas), of Kuwait Bay". Journal of Fish Biology 23 (3): 327–337.
- ^ Sasekumar, A.; Chong, V.C.; Lim, K.H. & Singh, H.R. (1994). Sudara, S.; Wilkinson, C.R.; Chou, L.M. (eds) "The Fish Community of Matang Mangrove Waters, Malaysia". Proceedings, Third ASEAN-Australia Symposium on Living Coastal Resources. Research papers, Vol. 2: 457-464, Bangkok, Thailand: Chulalonghorn University.
- ^ Brillet, C. (1969). "Etude du comportement constructeur des poissons amphibies Periophthalmidae". Terre et la Vie 23 (4): 496–520.
- ^ Ishimatsu A., Hishida Y., Takita T., Kanda T., Oikawa S., Takeda T. & Khoo K.H. (1998). "Mudskipper Store Air in Their Burrows". Nature 391: 237–238.
- ^ Ishimatsu A., Takeda T., Kanda T., Oikawa S. & Khoo K.H. (2000). "Burrow environment of mudskippers in Malaysia". Journal of Bioscience 11 (1,2): 17–28.
- ^ Lee H.J., Martinez C.A., Hertzberg K.J., Hamilton A.L. & Graham J.B. (2005). "Burrow air phase maintenance and respiration by the mudskipper Scartelaos histophorus (Gobiidae: Oxudercinae)". The Journal of Experimental Biology 208: 169–177.
- ^ Larson H.K. & Takita T. (2005). "Two new species of Periophthalmus (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Oxudercinae) from northern Australia, and a re-diagnosis of Periophthalmus novaeguineaensis". The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 20: 175–185.
- ^ *Murdy, E. O. (1989). "A Taxonomic Revision and Cladistic Analysis of the Oxudercine Gobies (Gobiidae: Oxudercinae)". Records of the Australian Museum Suppl. N°11: 1–93.
- ^ Milward, N. E. (1974). Studies on the taxonomy, ecology and physiology of Queensland mudskippers, unpubl. Ph D. dissertation, Univ. Of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.