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Dusky Mud Hopper

Periophthalmus modestus

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth0–0 m
  • Water temperature15–26 °C
  • Best monthsApril, August, and September
  • How commonOccasional
All species

Photo credit: (c) Jared Shorma, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The shuttles hoppfish or shuttles mudskipper is a species of mudskippers native to fresh, marine and brackish waters of the western Pacific Ocean from Vietnam to Korea and Japan. This species occurs in muddy estuaries, tidal flats and swamps and marshes and is capable of remaining out of the water for up to 60 hours so long as it is kept moist. This species can reach a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) TL. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade and is also used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Shuttles hoppfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 35 records
  • February: 50 records
  • March: 59 records
  • April: 213 records
  • May: 119 records
  • June: 147 records
  • July: 176 records
  • August: 241 records
  • September: 185 records
  • October: 176 records
  • November: 97 records
  • December: 37 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–0 m · Deepest record: 0.4 m

  • 0–10 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–26 °C

  • 14–16 °C: 2 records
  • 16–18 °C: 1 records
  • 18–20 °C: 3 records
  • 20–22 °C: 0 records
  • 22–24 °C: 0 records
  • 24–26 °C: 1 records
  • 26–28 °C: 3 records

Names and classification

English
Dusky Mud Hopper, Shuttles Hoppfish
Names in 5 more languages
German
Gewöhnlicher Schlammspringer
Spanish
Saltarín del fango modesto
Japanese
Tobihaze, トビハゼ
Korean
말뚝망둑어, 말뚝망둥어
Simplified Chinese
廣東彈塗魚, 彈塗魚

Other scientific names: Apocryptes cantonensis, Cyprinus cantonensis, Pariophthalmus cantonensis, Periophthalmus cantonensis

Similar species

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).
  • 517 open-data records from 1936 to 1990.
  • Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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