Content
- What are lung fish
- Lung fish: characteristics
- Lung fish: breathing
- Piramboia
- African lungfish
- Australian lungfish
You lung fish form a rare group of fish very primitive, which have the ability to breathe air. All living species in this group live in the southern hemisphere of the planet, and as aquatic animals, their biology is very much determined in this way.
In this article by PeritoAnimal, we'll get into the world of lungfish, what they look like, how they breathe, and we'll see some species examples of lung fish and their characteristics.
What are lung fish
You dipnoic or lungfish are a group of fish belonging to the class sarcopterygii, in which the fish that have lobed or fleshy fins.
The taxonomic relationship of lungfish with other fish generates much controversy and dispute among researchers. If, as is believed, the current classification is correct, these animals must be closely related to the group of animals (Tetrapodomorpha) that gave rise to the current tetrapod vertebrates.
are currently known six species of lungfish, grouped into two families, lepidosirenidae and Ceratodontidae. Lepidosirenids are organized into two genera, Protopterus, in Africa, with four living species, and the genus Lepidosiren in South America, with a single species. The family Cerantodontidae has only one species, in Australia, Neoceratodusfosteri, which is the most primitive living lung fish.
Lung fish: characteristics
As we said, lungfish have lobe fins, and unlike other fish, the spine reaches the end of the body, where they develop two skin folds that act as fins.
They have two functional lungs as adults. These derive from the ventral wall at the end of the pharynx. In addition to the lungs, they have gills, but they only carry out 2% of the adult animal's breathing. During the larval stages, these fish breathe thanks to their gills.
They have holesnasal, but they don't use them to get air, instead they have a occupationolfactory. Its body is covered with very small scales that are embedded in the skin.
These fish live in shallow continental waters and, during the dry season, they burrow into the clay, entering a kind of hibernationor lethargy. They cover their mouths with a clay "lid" that has a small hole through which the air needed for breathing can enter. They are oviparous animals, and the male is in charge of taking care of the offspring.
Lung fish: breathing
Lung fish have two lungs and feature a circulatory system with two circuits. These lungs have too many ridges and partitions to increase the gas exchange surface, and they are also highly vascularized.
To breathe, these fish rise to the surface, opening the mouth and expanding the oral cavity, forcing air to enter. They then close their mouths, compress the oral cavity, and air passes into the most anterior lung cavity. While the mouth and the anterior cavity of the lung remain closed, the posterior cavity contracts and exhales the air inspired by the previous breath, letting this air out through the opercles (where gills are commonly found in water-breathing fish). Once the air has been exhaled, the anterior chamber contracts and opens, allowing the air to pass to the posterior chamber, where the gas exchange. Next, see the lung fish, examples and description of the best known species.
Piramboia
The Pyramid (Lepidosiren paradox) is one of the lungfishes, is distributed throughout the river areas of the Amazon and other parts of South America. The appearance resembles that of an eel, and can reach up to over a meter long.
It lives in shallow and preferably still waters. When summer comes with the droughts, this fish build a burrow in the clay to keep moisture, leaving holes to allow lung respiration.
African lungfish
O Protopterus annectens is one of the lung fish species that live in africa. It is also shaped like an eel, although the fins are very long and stringy. It inhabits the countries of west and central Africa, but also a certain eastern region.
This fish has night habits and during the day it remains hidden among the aquatic vegetation. During droughts, they dig a hole where they enter vertically so that their mouths remain in contact with the atmosphere. If the water level drops below their hole, they start to secrete a mucus to keep moisture in your body.
Australian lungfish
The Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri) lives in southwest of Queensland, in Australia, on the Burnett and Mary rivers. It has not yet been assessed by the IUCN, so the conservation status is unknown, but it is protected by the CITES agreement.
Unlike other lung fish, the Neoceratodus forsterihas only one lung, so it can't just depend on air breathing. This fish lives deep in the river, hiding during the day and moving slowly across the muddy bottom at night. They are large animals, with more than one meter in length in adulthood and over 40 pounds of weight.
When the water level drops due to drought, these lungfishes remain at the bottom, as they have only one lung and also need to perform the water breathing through the gills.
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