Question
Tiktaalik, extinct walking fish, evolution of four-legged animals (3d paleoart rendering)

What group of fish can walk on land?

Last updated: September 21, 2025

Most fish have one simple rule for staying alive, and that's to not leave water. But there's a group of googly-eyed rebels that decided swimming was overrated and made themselves at home hopping around like they own the place. What group of fish decided that the whole "living underwater" thing was just a suggestion?

Correct Answer: Mudskippers

(Source)

Mudskippers spend up to three quarters of their lives on land, hopping around mudflats with their bulging eyes scanning for snacks while using pectoral fins that work like tiny arms. These fins have working joints that let them push themselves forward in what scientists generously call "crutching" but looks like someone doing pushups in mud. To pull off this land-dwelling lifestyle, they hold their breath by trapping water in oversized gill chambers that puff out when full, making them look like bug-eyed bodybuilders. Most species move faster on land than they do in the water, and they can launch themselves nearly two feet through the air using their tails. When they're not busy being athletic fish, they dig elaborate underground burrows by shoveling mud into their mouths and spitting it back out at the surface.

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