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Text and photos by Nick Baker, unless otherwise stated

 EcologyAsia 2008
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Slender Mudskipper
   

Adult Slender Skipper, Pulau Kukup mangrove, Peninsular Malaysia.


Typical back-mangrove habitat of the Slender Mudskipper, Pulau Kukup, Peninsular Malaysia.


Family : GOBIIDAE
Species : Periophthalmus gracilis
Maximum Length : 4.5 cm

References : F2

Links : The Mudskipper.org

The Slender Mudskipper is amongst the smallest of all mudskippers, measuring around 4.5 cm in length. As their name implies they are slender in profile : the head is only slightly wider than the body.

Dorsally the background skin colour   is brown to grey, and ventrally pale brown to pale grey. Darker blotches and saddles occur on the dorsal surface and upper flanks. In some specimens pale blue vertical stripes may occur along the flanks.

The front dorsal fin is mainly transparent, with a dark blotch at  the rear.

The species appears to prefer back-mangrove habitat i.e. the higher part of the inter-tidal range.

The Slender Mudskipper occurs in  Peninsular Malaysia, many parts of Indonesia and the Philippines, and parts of northern Australia.