#protopteridae

[ask-annamary]

why do some fish have lungs?

To breathe, of course.

Ha, I know that answer will not satisfy you. The fish you are thinking of are the aptly named “Lungfish”. They have lungs for… well. A lot of reasons, reely. Evolution, adaptation, specific needs in their habitats. Let’s ink about where exactly do lungfish live. The three families of extant lungfish are Protopteridae, Lepidosirenidae, and Neoceratodontidae. They live in Africa, South America, and Australia respectively. These areas can get incredibly hot and dry during the summer reasons, and this could very well be the reason behind this strange adaptation.

Pictured here is the West African lungfish. Known for its elongated, tendril like fins, it’s distinct snout, and yes… it’s lungs. This fish is an obligate air breather, meaning every 30 minutes or so it will surface to take gulps of air. Unlike most fish, this one is better at extracting oxygen from the air with its lungs, rather than oxygen from the water with its gills. Still, this fish requires a good body of water to survive. During the dry season, however, the rivers these fish reside in can dry up. For this reason, a lungfish can burrow in the mud and enter a period of “Estivation.” Similar to hibernation, the fish will remain inactive and will return when water levels rise again.

This is a problem that many other lungfish face during the dry seasons. When oxygen levels in the water are too low for gills to reliably work with, then they can turn to the air to breath. Isn’t that nice? Did you know the West African can make a cocoon of mucus for itself when it burrows? And said mucus makes a sort of breathing tube for itself from its burrow to the surface, like my very own breathing tube. I’d imagine it would be quite comfortable to sleep underground for an extended period of time. A nice, dark, enclosed space all for myself.

I hope this answers your question Anon. The short answer: Lungfish have lungs to extract oxygen from the air. The long answer? Whale I’ll have to dive into the whole evolution spiel. I haven’t even gone into primitive lungfish such as Dipterus…

Misty confinced me to post these illustrations as well. Initially they were cut just to keep things shrimple, but she told me that they looked “cute” and “nice”. I said “shore, whatever you say.” Maybe I should practice drawing some more…

[animalids]

West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens)

Photo by Michel Gunther

[samantha-velasquez-abilene-blog]

Well that is an interesting fishing technique!