A diverse diet and flexible behaviour may have empowered blenny fish to make a dramatic transition out of the water – but once on land, they have been forced to become specialised, a new study led by UNSW shows.
A diverse diet and flexible behaviour may have empowered blenny fish to make a dramatic transition out of the water – but once on land, they have been forced to become specialised, a new study led by UNSW shows.
The analysis of multiple big datasets, a collaboration between UNSW and the University of Minnesota, was published today in journal Functional Ecology.
“Some species of blennies never emerge from water and others stay on land full-time as adults – so they present a unique opportunity to study fish evolution in action and explore the transition from water to the land in a living animal,” says study lead and UNSW evolutionary ecologist, Associate Professor Terry Ord.
“In this study, we found that having a flexible diet has likely allowed blennies to make a successful leap onto land – but once out of the water, these remarkable land fish have faced restrictions on the type of food available to them.
Read more at University Of New South Wales
Photo: A group of Pacific leaping blennies out of the water on the foreshores of the island Guam. CREDIT: Terry Ord.
