Congo lungfish

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Congo lungfish
Protopterus dolloi Boulenger2.jpg

Congo lungfish ( Protopterus dolloi )

Systematics
Class : Meat finisher (Sarcopterygii)
Subclass : Lungfish (Dipnoi)
Order : Lepidosireniformes
Family : Protopteridae
Genre : African lungfish ( Protopterus )
Type : Congo lungfish
Scientific name
Protopterus dolloi
Boulenger , 1900

The Congo lungfish ( Protopterus dolloi ) occurs in central Africa in the lower and middle Congo Basin , in the Kouilou-Niari and Ogooué . The species is named after the Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo , who established a phylogeny of lung fish in 1893 .

features

It is the most elongated and therefore most eel-like lung fish on earth. Its maximum length is 1.35 m, the maximum weight 11 kg. The pectoral and pectoral fins are reduced to fleshy threads, as in all non-Australian lungfish. The long pectoral fins can double the length of the head. Often their base is fringed. The pelvic fins are a little shorter. The body is covered with small round scales, 80 to 104 are counted in a longitudinal row from the gill cover to a point above the pelvic fins, 40 to 48 in a row around the body. Congo lungfish have 47 to 55 pairs of ribs . The head length is 8.5 to 13% of the standard length. The eyes are small. Their diameter is 4.5 to 9.5% of the head length. The anus is not exactly on the underside of the body, but offset a little to the right or left.

Congo lungfish are brownish or grayish in color. The belly is yellowish, the throat often slightly reddish. The channels of the sideline system are brightly contrasted with the basic color. Black spots on the back and sides of the body that the fry show disappear with age.

Way of life

Congo lungfish live in constantly humid habitats without severe dry spells. Tunnels that they dig in the banks of their living waters, especially swamps, are therefore not used for survival during the dry season, but for reproduction. The male guards and guards eggs and juvenile fish there, while female Congo lungfish are more likely to be found in nearby rivers or streams. Congo lungfish feed on fish and insects, and during the breeding season they also eat plant foods.

literature

  • Kurt Fiedler: Textbook of Special Zoology, Volume II, Part 2: Fish. Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena, 1991, ISBN 3-334-00339-6 .
  • Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
  • Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels & Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa, Volume 1. ISBN 9789074752206 .

Web links

Commons : Congo Lungfish  - Collection of images, videos and audio files