📸 PhotoPhoto: harum.koh from Kobe city, Japan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Shuttles hoppfish
Periophthalmus modestus (Shuttles hoppfish · トビハゼ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum length of 15.3 cm is slightly shorter than a new pencil (about 17.5 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 According to the National List of Species of Korea, it can be seen on mudflats of the West and South Seas, and FishBase notes that it is traded as an aquarium fish.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The shuttles hoppfish is a small goby that crawls up onto mudflats and hops about when startled.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its two eyes bulge upward on top of the head and sit close together. Its pectoral fins are muscular and have arm-like joints that allow it to crawl across mud.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
At low tide, it emerges from the water to prey on small animals. As long as its body stays moist, it can survive in air for 22–60 hours.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
The National List of Species of Korea states that it lives along the West Sea and South Sea coasts of the Korean Peninsula.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2025) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/241147406/241147408
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4F2TY
- • iucnredlist.org — 241147408
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000059063 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000059063
- • wikidata.org — Q1328443
- • fishbase.se — Periophthalmus-modestus.html
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.