Land Invasion by the Mudskipper, Periophthalmodon septemradiatus, in Fresh and Saline Waters of the Mekong River.

ABSTRACT: There has been a long-standing controversy about whether vertebrates emerged in the Paleozoic from marine or freshwater environments. Several hypotheses have proposed coastal, estuarine and riparian areas as sites of the transition. Here, we report the ecology of an amphibious fish Periophthalmodon septemradiatus, which we presume is in the process of niche expansion into terrestrial habitats from estuarine to freshwater environments along the Mekong River, Vietnam. Adult fish are highly terrestrial and have not been observed to venture into water during our survey. Courtship behaviour was observed, and fertilised eggs were recovered from burrows in both brackish and freshwater environments. The smallest fish collected at 12, 96, and 148 km from the river mouth were juveniles shortly after

SUBMITTER: Mai HV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6775124 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature