International Mudskippers Day!
September 4 - Time to celebrate the amphibians AGAIN !
September 4. Today Is International Mudskippers’ Day!
No it isn’t. I just made that up. There will never be an International Mudskippers Day – but, damn it, there should be! I don’t know, it could be that mudskippers are of interest only to me. Well, and to all the other mudskippers.
If you are feeling at all uninspired today, though, you might like to learn something new. I’ll bet you have never thought about mudskippers before, or even heard of them. Let me introduce these unusual little guys to you.
Mudskippers are amphibious fish – they live both in and out of water in swamps and estuaries and on slimy mud flats They have the ability to climb, walk, jump, growl, roll around, show off for a female, tussle for territory, and generally frolic about in the sloppery, slippery slime.
They are odd-looking little fish with their bugged-out, rotating eyes and a mouth as big as their head - it is a face only a mother mudskipper could love. Some species have beautifully sculpted, colorful dorsal fins like the battened sails of a Chinese junk.
Though their habitat has a huge range, there are most likely no mudskippers where you live; they are found across the Indo-Pacific, from Africa to Polynesia, Australia to Japan.
If I have piqued your curiosity, here is a lovely 4-minute video from the BBC with an absurdly dramatic, absolutely delightful narration. Trust me— you will like it!
What do you think? Was I right? Now go out and wish someone Happy Mudskippers Day! Let’s get this holiday on the calendar. Hey … maybe
will put that on his agenda when he is elected President?
I already planned to push for an International Springboks Day, so why not add Mudskippers also. Everyone can have a Mud Little Buddy.
https://open.substack.com/pub/markstarlinwrites/p/springbok-the-show-off-of-the-savanna?r=3c4zu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Mudskippers? Who knew?
And following that wonderful BBC video, which you so creatively caught me with at International Mudskippers DAy, which doesn't exist --yet. I became so entranced, I watched the Ze Frank video. Humor up the wazoo! And surprising factoids. Ever seen videos by Ze Frank.Make you giggle- they will!