Home > Gilled African lungfish – Protopterus amphibius
Taxonomy of Gilled African lungfish
- Species: amphibius
- Genus: Protopterus
- Family: Protopteridae (African lungfishes)
- Order: Lepidosireniformes (South American and African lungfishes)
- Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fishes)
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
- Phylum: Chordata
- Kingdom: Animalia
Scientific name
Protopterus amphibius (Peters, 1844)
Synonyms of Protopterus amphibius
Rhinocryptis amphibia Peters, 1844
Protopterus amphibia (Peters, 1844)
Subspecies in gilled African lungfish
Protopterus amphibius is monotypic species
Common names of Protopterus amphibius
English: East African lungfish, East-Coast lungfish, Gilled lungfish, Kenyan lungfish
French: –
Chinese: 两栖非洲肺鱼, 兩棲非洲肺魚
German: –
Russian: протоптер малый
Arabic: –
Ecosystem
Freshwater; demersal; Tropical; temperature range: 25°C – 30°C; inhabits rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, swamps, mangroves, and floodplains; distributed in East African coastal regions from Somalia and Kenya; delta of Zambezi River; Lake Rukwa basin; flood plains of Ruaha and lower Rufiji;
Native countries
Mozambique and Somalia; probably introduced into Kenya and Tanzania;
Size range
maximum recorded length 44.3 cm;
Feeding habits
lungfish essentially carnivorous; feeds on zoobenthos, fishes, worms, mollusks, shrimps, insects and insect larvae;
Reproduction
dioecism; external fertilization; flood season; build nest and guard the eggs; paternal parental care; male aerates the water in the nest; newly hatched young have branched external gills;
Diseases
unknown;
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC)
CITES status: Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: harmless
Reference: http://www.fishbase.org/summary/8735
Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Protopterus_amphibius.png
Image author: opencage.info | License: CC BY-SA 2.5.
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