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2 October 2026

There is a fish that can leave the water and walk across land.

It sounds like something from a children’s story.

But the mudskipper really does it.

These unusual fish live around tidal mudflats and mangrove areas in parts of Asia and Africa. Their bodies are adapted for spending considerable periods outside water, and their strong pectoral fins help them move across wet mud.

They can even climb surprisingly well.

When the tide goes out, a mudskipper may spend hours on the exposed mud instead of immediately returning to the water.

But there is a catch.

It still needs to keep its body moist.

So it has developed another clever trick: it can retain water in its gill chambers and absorb oxygen through its skin and the lining of its mouth when conditions are right.

Looking at one moving across the mud, it is difficult not to think that evolution was experimenting.

A fish looked at the land and, in its own peculiar way, decided:

“Perhaps I can manage this.”

It cannot live like a human.

It cannot walk like us.

But for a fish, it has made a surprisingly good arrangement with the world outside the water.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah, Guwahati, Assam, India, Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah, YouTube: conversewithasmile, email rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com