Jim Kukucska, age 14, of milk River, Alta., Can., for his question:
WHAT IS A MUDSKIPPER?
Though the mudskipper is a genuine fish out of water, he looks to all the world like a popeyed, supersize tadpole of the amphibian clan. Naturally, as a fish he is not related to our native mud puppy, who is a genuine amphibian. He is at home along warm, muddy shores, in the sort of places where very young children love to play.
The mudskipper belongs to the goby family, a multitude of small fishes that dart among the rainbow colors of coral reefs. As fishes they have gills to extract oxygen from the water. But unlike most fishes, they also have tissues inside the mouth and throat that can extract oxygen from the air.
From his wide, froggy face to the tip of his tapering fishy tail, a mudskipper measures from 5 to 12 inches, depending on his species.
His scaly skin and his remarkable fins are likely to be dotted and spotted with bright browns or reds, especially during the courting season.
His bulging cheeks are large gill chambers where he can carry supplies of water during his long hours on the beach. His most noticeable feature is a pair of round, turreted eyeballs, set side by side on the very top of his head. He can pivot them around to survey the scenery on all sides and from time to time he winks one of his bright green or blue eyes. Also from time to time, he waves a gaudy fin to greet a neighboring relative.
One of his favorite haunts is a brackish mangrove swamp where tidal waters wash around soggy roots. There, lolling beside a group of friends, he uses his shoulder fins like elbows to rest on the mud, while his tail dangles down in the water. when alarmed, he scuttles across the mud, often faster than you can run. He can make his getaway with floppy, 3 foot leaps.
Nobody seems to know exactly how long a mudskipper can live out of water. However, his favorite places are near the high tidal level, where he often builds a soggy burrow.
In some species the dorsal shoulder fins are joined to form a sucker. These specialized fins are used to climb way up the trunks of mangrove trees. However, from time to time this fish out of water must moisten his scales and his eyes. He also must dunk to replace the water in his bulging gill chambers.
The various mudskippers are at shome in soggy swamps along the shores of West Africa, the Red Sea and parts of Australia. Some species live along lake shores of the Sahara region, where a fish must come prepared to cope with long spells of dry weather.