A genetic study of desert goby, a native inhabitant of Australia’s baking interior, has disclosed how far the feisty fish will travel to save a future for its offspring. The fish reaches nearly 8cm in adulthood. Melbourne’s Monash University researchers have found that the notoriously poor swimmer can go right across Lake Eyre, even in the times when the lake is dry.

They analyzed the fish’s DNA. The DNA revealed relationship between populations living at a distance of hundreds of kilometers from one another, as far away as the Northern Territory. As per the researchers, the creature leaves the safety of permanent spring-fed waterholes to puddle-hop around the desert, capitalizing on rainstorms that form fleeting pools.

One of the research team members, Krystina Mossop, who is studying the fish for her PhD ­thesis, said “You might see a little puddle that’s virtually dried up, and ­gobies are in there. We call them little Aussie battlers”.

The opportunistic dashes decreases the risks of food shortage, overcrowding and inbreeding, which is a main issue for three threatened sister species, including the Edgbaston, Elizabeth Springs and Dalhousie gobies. Each of them is confined to a few number of Great Artesian Basin springs.

But, risks come along with the move, as the desert pools at times dry up in hours. Ms Mossop said that all these fish carcasses will be left there with the birds having a bit of a field day.