The giant mudskipper Periophthalmodon schlosseri belongs to the Gobiidae family of fish. The mudskippers have eyes placed at the top of their heads. They also prefer to crawl about on land with the help of muscular pectoral fins. The fish breathe air through their moist skins as well as extracting oxygen from water they keep sealed tightly within the gill chambers. Every so often the fish plop into water puddles to change the water in the gill chambers. The giant mudskippers can grow to 27 cm in length. They feed on crabs and worms in mangrove swamps.
Cultured mudskippers are sold as table-fish in Taiwan.
Photos 1 & 2 on iNaturalist [ https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107539838 ]
Read this post and this post by Leong Tzi Ming. In the first post, Leong TM described the mudskipper being harassed by pesky mosquitoes. In the second post, a mudskipper gobbled up a crab.
References:
1. A guide to Mangroves of Singapore by Peter K.L. Ng & N. Sivasothy © 2001
2.Biodiversity of Singapore: An encyclopedia of the Natural Environment and Sustainable Development © 2011 Edited by:
Peter KL Ng, Richard T. Corlett and Hugh T. W. Tan
Article by Teo Lee Wei
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