Longjaw mudsucker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Longjaw mudsucker |
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The longjaw mudsucker (scientific name: Gillichthys mirabilis) is a unique type of goby fish. You can find it along the Pacific Ocean coast of California and Baja California. This fish is special because it has a super-long mouth and can even survive out of water for a short time!
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What Does the Longjaw Mudsucker Look Like?
As its name suggests, the longjaw mudsucker has an incredibly long upper jaw. It can reach almost to its gill opening! Its head is wide and flat, and its eyes are set close to the top of its head.
This fish is usually dark brown or olive green on its back. Its belly is yellowish. Sometimes, you might see faint vertical stripes on its body. These stripes are much clearer when the fish is young. The first dorsal fin (the one on its back) is small, with 4 to 8 spiny rays. The second dorsal fin is larger, with 10 to 17 soft rays. Its pectoral fins, which are like its "arms," are wide and round. They have 15 to 23 rays. Longjaw mudsuckers can grow up to 21 centimeters (about 8 inches) long.
Where Does the Longjaw Mudsucker Live?
Longjaw mudsuckers love to live in estuaries. These are places where rivers meet the sea. They especially like shallow, muddy areas called tidal sloughs. Here, they often dig their own burrows in the mud.
When the ocean tide goes out, the mud becomes exposed. The mudsuckers will then hide in their burrows or move into deeper tidal channels. If they get stuck on the mud, they have a clever trick! They can gulp air into a special part of their throat called a buccopharyngeal chamber. This helps them breathe and wait for the tide to come back in.
What Do They Eat?
These fish are not picky eaters! They will eat almost anything they can find in the mud. This includes small fish, like the California killifish. But mostly, they eat small creatures without backbones, called invertebrates. What they eat depends on what's available during different seasons.
Where Can You Find Them?
The longjaw mudsucker's natural home stretches from Tomales Bay in northern California all the way down to Bahia Magdalena in southern Baja California.
There's also a group of longjaw mudsuckers living separately in the northern part of the Gulf of California. These fish have been evolving on their own for a very long time – about 284,000 years!
In 1950, some longjaw mudsuckers were brought to the Salton Sea in California. They have thrived there ever since! People sometimes use them as bait fish for freshwater fishing, like in the Colorado River. This is because they can stay alive for a while when packed in moist algae. Plus, if they escape into freshwater, they won't reproduce, which helps protect the local ecosystem.
