Fish live on land

The bizarre lifestyle of Pacific clouds can shed light on the evolution to 'invade' the land of animals.

Pacific Cloudfish (scientific name Alticus arnoldorum) - is a fish that lives on land and can jump long distances without legs. This is a marine fish but on land in all everyday life as an adult, living on the rugged coasts of Micronesia. Dr. Terry Ord at the Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Research at the University of New South Wales (Australia) and research leader, told the Science Daily : 'This small fish seems to have taken a process. very successful transition between water and soil demarcation, although it must be wet to allow breathing through its gills and skin '.

Pacific Dance Canned Clouds - (Photo: Science Daily)

According to Australian experts , life on land for rattan cans depends on tides and temperature fluctuations. This is so important that most of their activities are limited for a short time in the middle of the tide. 'During the field study in Guam, we have never seen the return of water voluntarily by cans of rattan. In fact, they spend a lot of time avoiding the possibility of being submerged when the waves come, even when experts try to catch them for research , 'Ord added.

Also according to the Australian team, this fish is very difficult to catch and extremely agile on land. They move very fast on rocky surfaces using a unique tail-twisting action combined with enlarged pectoral fins and caudal fins to cling to almost any surface. In order to quickly reach a higher surface, they can also twist their bodies and snap their tails to jump far more than their body length.

Dr. Ord and his colleagues found that mature rattan cans shelter in rocks at high tide and low tide, appearing around the middle of the tide to feed, breed and 'socialize'. Assembly ' in surprisingly complex ways. They found that male fish are often on land and use complex expressions to warn opponents and attract partners. The female actively protects her territory, her food at the beginning of the breeding season, while the male fish holds out a red fin and nods strongly to attract her partner into her tightly protected rock hole. The team filmed the female to carefully check the hole before entering with her chosen partner. Little is known about their reproduction and the development of fry, but it seems that children are only responsible for laying eggs in a rock hole and then entrusting care to their 'husband'.

'Pacific clouds can provide a unique opportunity to discover the transition between the ground and the water of a living creature. Our ancient ancestors developed initially from lobed fin fish, but such fishes are completely in the water. However, there are species of rattan that have almost terrestrial or amphibian species or are completely underwater. Notably, representatives of all these types can be found in the area around Guam, making it a unique evolutionary laboratory , 'Ord added.