Periophthalmus novaeguineaensis
Mudskippers are the most amphibious of all fishes, breathing air through their skin and the lining of their mouth and throat, able to survive for hours out of water in humid burrows and even to jump distances of up to 60 cm across exposed mud. Around 40 species in ten genera occur worldwide, with Periophthalmus the most diverse genus at 18 species, seven of them recorded from Australia. They are largely sexually monomorphic outside the breeding season, when males display and defend territories around their burrows; larvae drift in the plankton before returning to settle on mudflats as juveniles.
One of five Australian mudskipper species specifically discussed in a travel-narrative account of mudskippers observed at the Cairns Airport mangrove boardwalk, Periophthalmus novaeguineaensis was seen displaying territorial pond-defence behaviour and retreating into mud burrows as the tide rose.
Compiled for Home of the Rainbowfish from ANGFA sources: A. R. Tappin (compiler), “Mudskippers”, In-Stream 23, 2014, pp. 16–20; M. Edwardes, “Land of Wonder: A Pom’s Eye-View”, In-Stream 11, 2002, pp. 12–14.