^^^ Fauna : Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish 



"climbiiiCT perch") which is also able to breathe and exist 

 for some hours on land. 



But as regards " Fish out of water," no form strikes the 

 visitor to the coast region of Liberia so forcibly as the Mud- 

 skipper or Bommi-fish {Periophthalmus koelraiteri). This little 

 creature, the appearance of which is perhaps sufficiently indicated 

 by my drawing, will hop about the sand and muci and even 

 climb on to low bouo;hs and roots of trees, remaining out of 



r-^ 



314. THE BOMMI-FISH (PERIOPHTHALMUS) 



the water (if unafraid) for some considerable time. The pectoral 

 fins are quite serviceable arms and the pelvic fins become a 

 kind of pedestal on which the body rests between the leaps. 

 Watching this little fish emerging from the water and pursuing 

 small insects and tiny crustaceans over the mud-flats in the 

 mangrove swamps, one realises the way in which by slow 

 degrees some fish genus of the Primary Epoch left the dreary 

 water-world to found the stock of the land vertebrates, under 



827 



