Graceful Mudskipper
Periophthalmus gracilis
- Water temperature23–29 °C
- Best monthsMay, September, and December
- How commonRare
Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
About this species
Periophthalmus gracilis, the slender mudskipper, known as belacak in Malay, is a species of mudskippers native to marine and brackish waters of the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean where it is an inhabitant of the intertidal zone. Capable of spending time out of water, This species can reach a length of 4.5 centimetres (1.8 in) SL.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Periophthalmus gracilis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 9 records
- February: 9 records
- March: 16 records
- April: 15 records
- May: 17 records
- June: 9 records
- July: 12 records
- August: 14 records
- September: 20 records
- October: 16 records
- November: 9 records
- December: 19 records
Depth and water temperature
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–29 °C
Photos
(c) coenobita, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Wolfgang Ahlmer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Kai Squires, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Lek Khauv, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Thorsten Hackbarth, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Kym Nicolson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Graceful Mudskipper, Slender Mudskipper
Names in 2 more languages
- Spanish
- Saltarín del fango esbelto
- Simplified Chinese
- 細彈塗魚, 细弹涂鱼
Similar species
Barred mudskipperPeriophthalmus argentilineatus
Atlantic MudskipperPeriophthalmus barbarus
Dusky Mud HopperPeriophthalmus modestus
Gold-spotted MudskipperPeriophthalmus chrysospilos
Common mudskipperPeriophthalmus kalolo
Pearse's MudskipperPeriophthalmus novemradiatus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 77 open-data records from 1972 to 2015.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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