Which fish uses its fins to walk on land in intertidal zones?

The mudskipper is the fish that uses its fins to walk on land in intertidal zones. Mudskippers are goby relatives that spend much of their lives on exposed mudflats, mangrove edges, and tidal wetlands.

Their pectoral fins work like small crutches. By planting and rotating them while flexing the body and tail, mudskippers can haul themselves across mud, climb short slopes, and make quick jumps. Their fused pelvic fins also help them cling to surfaces and stabilize themselves. This movement is sometimes called “crutching.”

Life between tides demands more than unusual locomotion. Mudskippers can breathe air through their skin and the moist lining of their mouth and throat, provided they stay damp. They retreat to burrows during heat, drying conditions, and high tide; some species also use those burrows for shelter and reproduction.

Lungfish can survive out of water, while frogfish and clingfish can crawl or grip surfaces, but mudskippers are the classic intertidal fish associated with walking across land using fin-assisted movements. They are not fully terrestrial: water and moisture remain essential to their biology.