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Really old fishes... likely arose in the mid to lower Devonian... possibly a
side-shoot of the organisms that gave rise to land vertebrates. Tail fin
diphycercal, ending in a point, confluent with dorsal and anal fins. Premaxilla
and maxilla bones absent. Have functional lungs. Three extant genera with six
living species.
Order Ceradontiformes Flipperlike
pectoral and pelvic fins. Large scales. Unpaired air bladder/lung. Young without
external gills, adults don't "hibernate" (estivate)
Family Ceratodontidae,
the Australian Lungfish. One species.
| Neoceratodus forsteri Kemp and Molnar 1981.
Australian Lungfish. Southeast Queensland, Australia. To |
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Order Lepidoseriformes Filamentous pectoral and pelvic fins, lacking
rays. Small scales. Air bladder/lungs paired. Young with external gills, adults
do estivate in dry seasons.
Family Lepidosirenidae, the South American
Lungfish. One species.
Family Protopteridae, African Lungfishes. One
genus, four species.
| Protopterus aethiopicus Heckel 1851, the Marbled
Lungfish. Dorsal fin originates midway between the eye and vent.
Dark gray above, brown to yellow below. East Africa; the Nile and many
lakes. To two meters in length, 17 kilograms. Tropical, 25-30 C. |
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| Protopterus amphibius (Peters 1844), the Gilled
Lungfish. East Africa; Kenya, Somalia to Zambesi Delta. To eighteen inches
in length. |
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| Protopterus annectens (Owen 1839), West African
Lungfish. Feeds on mollusks, crabs, small fishes and insects. Very long
pectoral fins, darkish in color. To one meter in length. |
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Bibliography/Further Reading:
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