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| Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes > Family Gobiidae > mudskippers |
| Gold-spotted
mudskipper Periophthalmus chrysospilos Family Gobiidae updated Jan 10 Where seen? This delightful spotted fish is commonly seen on many of our shores. It tends to move around in groups, often in amusing 'herds', nervously moving just out of your reach. Sometimes they move in a line, following what seems to be the leader. On all kinds of shores including rocky shores, sandy areas near mangroves and seagrasses, as well as on coral rubble areas near reefs. Features: 6-12cm. Gaily speckled with orange spots on 'cheeks' and the underside of the body. The male raises his bright orange-and-black dorsal fin to court females and intimidate rival males. The mudskipper digs a burrow on soft mud flats, spitting out balls of mud as it digs out the hole. One mudskipper was seen to spit out mud missiles at an intruder! Here's video clips of this mud-slinging. What does it eat? It eats small crabs, prawns and insects. |
 Kusu Island, Jun 05 |
 Dorsal fins used to communicate with one another. Chek Jawa, Mar 11 |
 Bulbous eyes high on the head. Kusu Island, Jun 05 |
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Gold-spotted mudskippers on Singapore shores
 Sentosa, May 04 
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 Raffles Lighthouse, Jul 06  |
 Pulau Semakau, Mar 09  |
 Spitting out mudballs as it digs a burrow. Chek Jawa, Jan 10 Photo shared by James Koh on his flickr. |
 Sometimes seen moving in a group. Pulau Semakau, Dec04 |
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 Chek Jawa, Dec 09 |
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video clips and more photos of gold-spotted mudskippers on Singapore shores
part 1 | part 2
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