mudskipper

American  

[muhd-skip-er] / ˈmʌdˌskɪp ər /

noun

1. any of several gobies of the genera Periophthalmus and Boleophthalmus, of tropical seas from Africa to the East Indies and Japan, noted for the habit of remaining out of water on mud flats for certain periods and jumping about when disturbed.

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mudskipper British  

/ ˈmʌdˌskɪpə /

noun

1. any of various gobies of the genus Periophthalmus and related genera that occur in tropical coastal regions of Africa and Asia and can move on land by means of their strong pectoral fins

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Etymology

Origin of mudskipper

First recorded in 1855–60; mud + skipper ²

Example Sentences

A baby golden-spotted mudskipper snapped on the edge of a mangrove in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand.

From BBC • Oct. 21, 2023

It quickly became clear that federally funded researchers would put just about anything on a treadmill: turkeys, turtles, a mountain lion and even the mudskipper fish.

From Washington Times • Mar. 14, 2023

There’s the fact that our protagonist is called James Pond, in what appears to be an unwitting reference to the series of ’90s video games based on an anthropomorphic mudskipper of the same name.

From The Verge • Jan. 4, 2022

Our inference, which placed the mudskipper as the outgroup, differs from that of a previous phylogenetic analysis based on fewer protein-coding genes that had placed syngnathids as an outgroup5.

From Nature • Dec. 13, 2016

Pong had never thought about escaping Namwon before, but now the opportunity lurched up like a mudskipper and slapped him across the face with its tail.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat