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Mudskippers

All articles tagged with #mudskippers

science2 years ago•3 min saved

Blinking Fish May Reveal Secrets of Ancestral Evolution to Land Living.

Mudskippers, a subfamily of fish that live both on land and in the water, are the only fish that can blink, and they evolved this ability independently from our ancestors — a concept known as convergent evolution. Scientists think that blinking evolved in land animals when they made the transition from the oceans roughly 375 million years ago. Therefore, studying this example of convergent evolution has offered clues as to how our primordial ancestors first took to Earth's shores.

via Livescience.com|

#ancestral-evolution #blinking #convergent-evolution

biology3 years ago•4 min saved

The Evolutionary Significance of Blinking in Amphibious Fish

Scientists are studying mudskippers, an amphibious fish that blinks its bulbous eyes, to understand how blinking emerged from the water with our ancestors. The ancestors of modern land tetrapods crawled out of the water some 375 million years ago, necessitating some pretty dramatic physical adaptations, from locomotion to sensory perception. One thing we observe in almost all land tetrapods, but not closely related aquatic animals, is blinking, suggesting that the behavior emerged as part of the suite of land-dweller adaptations.

via ScienceAlert|

#biology #blinking #evolution

science3 years ago•4 min saved

The Evolutionary Significance of Blinking in Land Animals and Humans.

Researchers have studied mudskippers to understand how the first animals to leave the oceans and wander onto shore would have had to figure out how to blink. Mudskippers are one of the few fish that can survive outside of water for extended periods of time thanks to their amphibian-like adaptations. By studying mudskippers, the researchers say that there’s an opportunity to understand how tetrapods may have evolved to blink millions of years ago in a separate yet similar way. The mudskipper appears to have rearranged its muscles in order to pop its eyes in and out, hinting that ancient tetrapods may have evolved in a similar way.

via Inverse|

#anatomy #blinking #evolution

science3 years ago•0 min saved

The Evolutionary Significance of Blinking in Humans and Fish

Researchers studying mudskippers, an amphibious fish, have found clues as to why humans evolved to blink. While it's known that blinking keeps our eyes moist and protected, the evolution of the phenomenon has been less understood. The study offers insights into the importance of eye protection and moisture for survival.

via National Geographic|

#blinking #evolution #eye-protection