Can fish walk?

Can fish walk?

Some fish can 'walk' across the seabed says Laurie Jackson. Here's some of them...

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Published: October 19, 2022 at 7:55 am

Believe it or not there are some fish that appear to be able to walk, with several species of fish having been documented ‘walking’ along the seabed in a variety of different styles.

Which fish can 'walk'?

Aided by buoyancy, bottom-dwelling frogfish (one of the world's weirdest fish) use their pectoral fins to shuffle after prey, while epaulette sharks also use their pelvic fins to haul themselves between rockpools.

In fresh water, lungfish walk on long, fleshy fins, but on land this turns into more of a belly crawl. Mudskippers also venture onto land. Their pectoral fins have a joint-like bend that, with their tails, allows them to spring across muddy estuaries. These all follow a rather loose definition of walking, but deep in the Thai rainforest, cave angel fish do things differently.

They are one of the very few fish to have a bone connection between their pelvic fins and spine which, combined with strong muscles, allows them to walk through caves and even up waterfalls in a fashion similar to a newt.


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