What comes to your mind when you first think about a fish? Large or small diamond shaped bodies in various colours floating around in an aquarium, river, pond, lake, sea or the ocean isn’t it? In the entire description what is taken for granted is that fishes swim or float in the water. But what if you are told that there is a fish that ‘walks’, would you believe? We uncover the truth or the myth behind the ‘walking’ fish and see whether these water animals can truly behave out of the box.
Deep within the ocean and closer to the ocean bed one can spot a variety of fish called the Chaunax. Although scientifically it is called the chaunax, its popular names vary from frogmouth, to coffin fish or even gapers. It gets its name from the round, ovalish-circular structure of its head where its eyes are placed high above. This gives the facial frame of the fish a toad-like structure and hence the name frogmouth. But what makes this fish memorable are its two tiny fins placed at the bottom of the body. Loose skin in between these fins gives it the look and the functionality of webbed feet. This is the ‘feet’ that allows the fish to ‘walk’ around in the ocean.
But the Chaunax isn’t always seen walking around. It is only during hunting, when it sneakily makes its way to the prey on its feet, that it walks. Scientifically, it has been seen that the webbed fin structure multiplies its speed and allows it to catch its prey faster than it could have while swimming around it.
Why do the Chaunax walk?
The answer to this question lies in the timeline of species evolution. Millions of years ago, during the dinosaur age, several types of animals existed. Some stayed on land, some on air, some on water and some on multiple habitats. As time went by, they started evolving and adapting to the changes in the environment around them. This led to many animals adapting to various functions or survival tactics to stay alive in different habitats. As a result of these kinds of evolution, the Chaunax ended up being a unique species that survives underwater and yet ‘walks’ to feed itself. This animal is just one of the examples of how wonderful and surprising nature can be.
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.