Mudskippers off Gurney Drive

I took this photo quite long ago, possibly about two to three months back. I just happened to be walking along Gurney Drive in the late afternoon, looking out into the sea at low tide when I noticed that life was teeming on the mudflat. There were practically thousands of the blue-spotted mudskipper (Boleophthalmus boddarti) walking and skipping around on their pectoral fins and with their bulbous eyes moving in every direction. With some measuring 15cm to 20 cm long, they looked very mean. However, they disappeared quickly at the slightest hints of danger.


I've read that the presence of the amphibious fish would tell a lot about the cleanliness of the coastline. According to Dr Aileen Kan Shau Hwai, a senior lecturer at the Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Biological Sciences, this was a favourable indication of the cleanliness level in the area.

“In some countries, mudskippers are used as a pollution indicator. Something in the pollutants and heavy metals found in polluted areas stunts the growth of mudskippers. Larger mudskippers are actually a good indication of the cleanliness level."

Really? I've always thought that these mudskippers only live in badly polluted waters and the more polluted the eco-system, the more we'd see these amphibious creatures. Maybe I'm wrong but whatever the case may be, the presence of mudskippers off Gurney Drive only accentuates the destruction of the once-pristine sandy coastline by erosion, the deposition of silt and mud, and of course the irresponsible actions by countless people to discard rubbish and other unwanted things into the sea.

I also noticed fine specimen at the mudflat during low tide. At first I thought it was the Great White Heron but it most likely the migratory Great Egret (Ardea alba). I've noticed this type of birds many years ago along the banks of the Prai river in Province Wellesley when I was still staying in Seberang Jaya.