Coordinated terrestrial locomotion in California grunion ( Leuresthes tenuis ).

Abstract

Terrestrial locomotor behaviors in fishes allow fishes to escape biotic and abiotic pressures in aquatic habitats. Emerging to spawn once a year, California grunion beach themselves during Spring high tides. We described two coordinated behaviors that adult grunion consistently perform during short, but regular, bouts of movement on land: the tail-flip jump and "sidestepping" behavior. While tail-flip jumping covered more ground per event, repeated sidestepping allowed grunion to cover comparable ground per unit time. This is the first published kinematic description of grunion locomotor behaviors in terrestrial habitats based on video recordings.