Mudskipper

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmʌdˌskɪpɚ/

Definitions

1. A small amphibious fish found in mangrove swamps and tidal flats of Africa and Asia that can move across mud and breathe air through its skin and gill chambers
2. A small amphibious fish native to African and Asian mangrove environments that moves across muddy terrain and extracts oxygen through specialized skin and gill structures
3. An amphibious fish species inhabiting tidal zones of Africa and Asia, capable of terrestrial locomotion and aerial respiration via permeable integument and modified gills

Etymology: The name is a plain compound of two English words: "mud" and "skipper." "Skipper" here means the skipping motion, a light hopping or bouncing, rather than a ship's captain, which is a separate word. Put together, the name describes exactly what the fish does: it hops and skips across exposed mudflats at low tide, using its muscular pectoral fins to lever itself along. The compound is a transparent, descriptive coinage, so the interest lies in the picture it paints. The mudskipper spends long stretches out of water, breathing through moist skin and the gill chambers that hold water, and its ability to move on land is what gave it the name. Its everyday behaviour is recorded in the word itself, with no need for a specialist term.