Fun with Science Club®


			Have you seen a four-eyed walking fish that can surf? Carrie Straight 05.14.01 Scientists have studied the four-eyed blenny (Dialommus fuscus) because of its unique eye structure and to figure out what other types of fish are closely related to it, but very few studies have been conducted to look at this species' behavior. These fish are unique because they act like amphibians (spending time outside of the water) when they are in the intertidal zone. A scientist from Germany wanted to find out more about the behavior of blenny, so they went to Santa Cruz on the Galapagos Islands to watch four-eyed blenny. The scientist made systematic observations and recorded the amount of time that each fish spent out of the water and took videos of how the fish got around and the types of food that it ate. They observed 535 four-eyed blennies that averaged about 30 seconds out of the water at a time. These fish did not spend time on dry areas, but stayed in areas where waves kept the rocks wet. They used their body and tail to help move around as they searched for food. They also traveled across small pools of water by flapping their tail and surfing across the surface of the water.


			Neider, J. 2001. Amphibious behaviour and feeding ecology of the four-eyed blenny (Dialommus fuscus, Labrisomidae) in the intertidal zone of the island of Santa Cruz (Galapagos, Ecuador). Journal of Fish Biology 58: 755-767.