Fish are vertebrates whose diversity of shapes, sizes and lifestyles make them unique. Among the different lifestyles they have, it is worth highlighting those species that have evolved in their environment to obtain very peculiar characteristics. So much so that there are fish whose fins have a structure that works and they use as "legs". And this should not surprise us, since the evolution of the legs occurred around 375 million years ago, when the sarcopterygian fish Tiktaalik lived, a fish with lobe fins that had several characteristics of tetrapods (vertebrates with four legs).
Studies indicate that the legs arose due to the need to move from places where the waters were shallow and to search for sources of food. In this article on our site, we will tell you if there are fish with legs, so if you want to know more about them, continue reading.
Are there fish with legs?
If you have asked yourself this question, the answer is no, since there are no fish with true legs. However, as we mentioned earlier, some species have the flippers adapted to “walk” or move along the bottom of the sea or river, and others can even get out of the water for short excursions in search of food or to move between bodies of water.
These species, in general, place their fins closer to the body in order to have better support and, in the case of others, such as the Senegal bichir (Polypterus senegulus), they have other characteristics that They have allowed them to get out of the water successfully, since their body is longer and their skull is somewhat separated from the rest of the body, which gives them greater mobility. This shows how fish have a great plasticity to adapt to their environment, and this may reveal to us how the first fish ventured out of the water during evolution and how later the species that exist today and developed fins that allow them to “walk”.
Types of fish with legs
Some of the more well-known fish with legs are as follows:
Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus)
This species of the Anabantidae family is distributed in India, China and the Wallace Line It measures about 25 cm in length and it is a fish that lives in freshwater lakes, rivers and in plantation areas, however, it can tolerate salinity. This species can leave the places it inhabits if they dry out, and they do so by using their pectoral fins as “legs” to move around. They are very resistant to environments with little oxygen, in fact, they can take up to a day to reach other ponds, and up to six days they can survive out of waterTo do this, they often dig and bury themselves in the wet mud in order to survive.
If you want to know more fish that live in rivers, you can read this other article on River Fish - Names and Photos.
Batfish (Dibranchus spinosus)
The batfish, or sea bat, belongs to the family Ogcocephalidae, present in the tropical and subtropical waters of all the seas and oceans of the world, except in the Mediterranean Sea. Its body is very particular, it is modified and has a flattened and rounded shape, adapted for life at the bottom of bodies of water, that is, they are benthic. Its tail has two peduncles that come out of its sides and that are modifications of its pectoral fins that function as legs. In turn, the pelvic fins are very small and are located below the throat and function similarly to front legs. Their two pairs of fins are very muscular and strong, which allows them to walk along the seafloor and which they do most of their time, since they are not very good swimmers Once they catch a potential prey they stay still and attract it by means of a lure that they have on their face and then catch them with their protractile mouth.
Schaefer's monkfish (Sladenia shaefersi)
Belonging to the Lophiidae family, Schaefer's anglerfish inhabits from South Carolina, northern South America to the Lesser Antilles. It is a large species, reaching more than 1 meter in length Its head is rounded but not flattened and it has a laterally compressed tail. It has two filaments that come out of its head and also spines of different lengths around it and along the body. It inhabits the rocky bottoms where it stalks its prey thanks to its design that perfectly camouflages itself with the environment. It can Move around the seabed “walking” thanks to its pectoral fins modified as feet.
Red hand fish (Thymichthys politus)
Species of the family Brachionichthyidae, inhabiting the coasts of Tasmania, very little is known about the biology of this fish. It can reach approximately 13 cm in length. His appearance is very striking, since his entire body is red and covered in warts, with a crest on his head. Their pelvic fins are smaller and are located below and near the head, while their pectoral fins are highly developed and appear to have “fingers” that help them to walk on the seabed. Prefers sandy areas near coral reefs and coastlines.
African lungfish (Protopterus annectens)
This is a lungfish of the Protopteridae family that inhabits rivers, lakes or swamps with vegetation in Africa. It has a length of more than a meter and its body is elongated (eel-shaped) and greyish in colour. Unlike other types of walking fish, this fish can walk along the bottoms of rivers and other bodies of freshwater, thanks to its pectoral and pelvic fins, which in this case they are stringy, and they can also jump. It is a species whose form persisted almost invariably for millions of years. It is able to survive the dry season because it digs in the mud and buries itself wrapping itself in a mucous coating that it secretes, also called “cocón”. It can spend months in this semi-dormant state breathing atmospheric oxygen thanks to its lungs.
Blond fish (Tigra lucerna)
From the Triglidae family, the blond fish is a marine species that inhabits the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. It is a gregarious species that in the spawning season congregates on the coasts. It reaches more than 50 cm in length and its body is robust, laterally compressed and is reddish-orange in color and smooth in appearance Its pectoral fins are highly developed, reaching anal fin. They have three rays that come out of the base of their pectoral fins and allow them to “crawl or walk” on the sandy seabed, since they act with small legs. These spokes also function as sensory or tactile organs with which they probe the bottoms in search of food. They have the unique ability to produce "snoring" thanks to vibrations of the swim bladder, in the face of threats or during the reproductive season.
Mudfish (several species of the genus Periophtalmus)
From the Gobiidae family, this peculiar species lives in tropical and subtropical waters of Asia and Africa, in areas of the mouths of rivers where the waters are brackish. It is typical of mangrove areas where they go out to hunt. It measures about 15 cm long and its body is quite elongated with a large head and the very striking eyes, since they are bulging, mobile (a very rare trait in fish) and are located frontally, almost glued. It can be said that its lifestyle is amphibious or semi-aquatic, since it can breathe atmospheric oxygen thanks to gaseous exchange through the skin, pharynx, oral mucosa and chambers in the gills where they store oxygen. Its name is due to the fact that, beyond the fact that they can breathe outside the water, they always need mud zones to maintain body humidity and thermoregulate, it is also the site where they feed most of the time. Their pectoral fins are strong and with cartilage that allows them to walk out of the water in muddy areas and also with their pelvic fins they can hold on to surfaces.
You may also be interested in this other article about Fish that breathe out of water.
Pink yawning fish (Chaunax pictus)
It belongs to the Chaunacidae family and is distributed throughout all the planet's oceans in temperate and tropical waters, except in the Mediterranean Sea. Its body is robust and rounded, laterally compressed at the end, reaching about 40 cm in length and its color is reddish-orange and its skin is quite thick and covered by small spines, it can also ingest and inflate, which gives it the appearance of a puffer fish. Both its pectoral and pelvic fins that are located below the head and are very close, are highly developed and are used as real legs to move across the bottom of the seas, and it is a fish that has little ability to swim.
The axolotl, a fish with legs?
The axolotl or axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a very curious animal, native and endemic to Mexico, which occupies lakes, lagoons and other bodies of fresh and shallow water with abundant aquatic vegetation in the south central part of the country and reaches about 15 cm in length. This is an amphibian which is listed as " Critically Endangered" because of its consumption by humans, loss of its habitat and the introduction of exotic fish species.
It is an exclusively aquatic animal that looks like a fish, however, contrary to what many people believe, This animal is not a fish, but rather a salamander-like amphibian whose adult body retains the characteristics of a larva (a process called neoteny) with a laterally compressed tail, external gills, and presence of legs
