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Climbing Perch Top Panel
Climbing Perch Top Panel
  
        

The fish that climbs trees
The Climbing Perch was discovered in 1791 in India by a Dutch naturalist called Daldorff, who found the fish 5ft up a palm tree, enjoying a trickle of water that ran down the trunk.

Climbing Perch In addition to the fleshy gills that all bony fishes have for breathing in water, the gills of the Climbing Perch have a special labyrinth organ which enables it to breathe air.

These fishes do not in fact climb! They are occasionally found on trees, perhaps having wriggled free from, or being dropped by, a bird that has taken them into a convenient tree to eat. The Climbing Perch can stay alive for a long time out of water.

The gills of the Climbing Perch are not as efficient as those of other bony fishes, so it has to rise to the surface of the water every half hour or so to gulp air. This ability to breathe air enables it to live in water that contains little oxygen. If the water becomes too stagnant however, the Climbing Perch emerges onto the land and sets off in search of cleaner water. It moves across country using wriggling tail movements, while the front end of its body is propped up by the pectoral fins and spiny gill covers.

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