Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Pseudo-Bony Fishes

Various Pseudo-Bony Fishes

Leopard Lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus Photo © Animal-World : Courtesy Ken Childs

  Pseudo-Bony Fishes in an evolutionary sense, are much older than the True Bony fishes!

   The category "Various Pseudo-Bony Fishes" is kind of a catch-all for a lot of families that don't quite fit into any other group, though they are most closely related to the "True Bony Fishes". The families included here contain some of the more interesting fish like the sturgeon fish, lungfish, gars and pikes. Other fish that do fit here, but that we have devoted their own section to, include bichers and freshwater rays.

Click on the small images below to access each type of Pseudo-Bony Fish.

Lungfishes
Family: Lepidosirenidae and Protopteridae

   True to their name, Lungfish have lungs and need to breathe air!

   Some very interesting fish are the Lungfishes of the order Lepidosireniformes. They are found throughout west and central Africa as well as the northern and central parts of South America. They have an eel like body that is moderately elongated with small round scales, They also have air bladders or lungs, and are able to aestivate during dry periods. Aestivation is a state of reduced metabolism which enables these fish to survive by burrowing into a mud hole and enclose themselves in a mucous cocoon. The eggs are laid in muddy holes and guarded by the male.
   These intriguing fish are comprised of only 5 known species.There is the African Lungfish (family Protopteridae) which contains 1 genera and 4 species, and the South American Lungfish (family Lepidosirenidae), also called the Aestivating lungfish, which has just 1 genera and 1 species.

For more Information on keeping freshwater fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Lungfish
Leopard Lungfish - African Lungfish	South American Lungfish
Protopterus aethiopicus aethiopicus	Lepidosiren paradoxa

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