Fish out of water: terrestrial jumping by fully aquatic fishes

Abstract

Many teleosts that live at the water's edge will voluntarily strand themselves to evade predators or escape poor conditions-this behavior has been repeatedly observed in the field for killifishes (Cyprinodontiformes). Although most killifishes are considered fully aquatic and possess no obvious morphological specializations to facilitate terrestrial locomotion, individuals from several different species have been observed moving across land via a "tail flip" behavior that generates a terrestrial jump. Like aquatic fast starts, terrestrial jumps are produced by high-curvature lateral flexion of the body (stage one), followed by contralateral flexion of the posterior body (stage two). Here, terrestrial jumps and aquatic fast starts are quantified for two littoral teleosts: Gambusia affinis (a killifish, Cyprinodontiformes) and Danio rerio (a small carp, Cypriniformes) to determine if the tail flip is produced by other (non-killifish) teleosts and to test the null hypothesis that the tail flip is a fast start behavior, performed on land. Both Danio and Gambusia produce tail flip-driven terrestrial jumps, which are kinematically distinct from aquatic escapes and characterized by (1) a prolonged stage one, during which the fish bends, lifting and rolling the center of mass over the caudal peduncle, and (2) a relatively brief stage two, wherein the caudal peduncle pushes against the substrate to launch the fish into the aerial phase. The ability of these fully aquatic fishes to employ the same structure to produce distinct kinematic patterns in disparate environments suggests that a new behavior has evolved to facilitate movement on land and that anatomical novelty is not a prerequisite for effective terrestrial locomotion.

First record of ‘climbing’ and ‘jumping’ by juvenile Galaxias truttaceus Valenciennes, 1846 (Galaxiidae) from south-western Australia

“…This appears consistent with fish that have an ability to jump out of the water, e.g. propelled by a swimming burst, and also those species capable of 'terrestrial' jumping using tail-flip or axial bending behaviour (sensu Gibb et al 2011).…”

By land or by sea: a modified C-start motor pattern drives the terrestrial tail-flip

“…In water, mangrove rivulus perform typical C-starts, although they are considerably slower ( present study) compared with C-starts of similarly sized fishes (Webb, 1978a;Domenici and Blake, 1993); on land, the tailflip behavior, which is performed by the mangrove rivulus, looks superficially similar to the C-start escape response ( Fig. 1) (Gibb et al, 2011(Gibb et al, , 2013. The mangrove rivulus eliciting the terrestrial tailflip show similar axial movements in what appears to be a stereotyped behavior (Wainwright et al, 2011).…”

“…Once there, however, these fish must contend with the demands of the terrestrial environment: buoyant support is lacking, gravity must be overcome and new predators such as birds or snakes may be encountered. The mangrove rivulus and many other small fishes lacking modified fins for terrestrial support and locomotion move by means of a 'tailflip', a coordinated movement in which the fish, lying on its side, lifts the head and rolls it over the tail, then straightens the body, finally launching off of the tail to become a ballistic projectile (Gibb et al, 2011(Gibb et al, , 2013). An unanswered question is how the tail-flip behavior is generated.…”

Towards a Comprehensive Catalog of Zebrafish Behavior 1.0 and Beyond

“…161 1.172. Territorial behavior: Monopolization and aggressive defense of a defined area in a habitat/tank 162 (e.g., spawning sites are a commonly defended territory in zebrafish).…”