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Mudskipper

By Geetika Anand

A fish with the face of a frog. Unbelievable. But true!

The fish actually looks like it was cursed by a fairy to turn into a frog and the curse stopped working half way!

It is called the mudskipper. Because it lives in swamps and estuaries with mud banks. An estuary is a place where a river meets the sea.

It can crawl and jump over land too. It actually has a rollicking time jumping over mud!No wonder it is called the mudskipper!

It has two fins on the front, which it uses as forelegs to jump about when it is out of water. When on land, it breathes air and moisture trapped in its gills. Its gills are small and it can live on land for several hours at time, provided the air is humid.

It is about 12 to 30 inches long. It has a blunt head with big, protruding eyes that are set close to each other. They help him spot food, such as flying insects, lobsters, shrimps, crabs and other small creatures, moving on land.