| Spotted lungfish | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Sarcopterygii |
| Class: | Dipnoi |
| Order: | Ceratodontiformes |
| Family: | Protopteridae |
| Genus: | Protopterus |
| Species: | P. dolloi |
| Binomial name | |
| Protopterus dolloi | |
 | |
The spotted lungfish or slender lungfish (Protopterus dolloi) is a species of lungfish from Middle Africa, where found in the Congo, Kouilou-Niari and Ogowe river basins. [1] [3] It is one of four extant species in the genus Protopterus.
The slender lungfish is a freshwater fish and it largely inhabits the middle and lower Congo River basin. [3] It is a primarily demersal fish, dwelling in the riverbeds of the above basins and in Stanley Pool. [3] [1] During spawning season, females can be found in open water. [3] [1]
The slender lungfish has an anguilliform body, much like an eel. [3] The body of the slender lungfish is generally brown; young of the species oftentimes have black spots throughout the body, however adults generally lose these spots as they age. [3] Like all African lungfish the slender lungfish is an obligate air-breather and is capable of aestivation; however, it generally does not aestivate. [3] When it does aestivate, the lungfish creates a dry mucus cocoon on land. [4] As most tropical fish are ammoniotelic, being on land can induce ammonia toxicity – with negative organismal and cellular level consequences – due to a lack of water to flush excreted ammonia from the gills and other cutaneous surfaces. [4] Studies have shown that the slender lungfish has evolved the ability to reduce endogenous ammonia production, as well as an ornithine-urea cycle to increase the conversion rate of ammonia to less toxic urea, to defend against this toxicity. [4] [5]
Spotted lungfish nests are generally found in June through October. [1] During this time period the male makes a nest and buries it in mud, not unlike the marbled lungfish mating behavior. [1] He guards both eggs and larvae during this time. [3] [1] The female does not take care of the young but rather during this time can be found open water in rivers within its range. [3]
Aestivation is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is characterized by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate, that is entered in response to high temperatures and arid conditions. It takes place during times of heat and dryness, which are often the summer months.
The shoebill, also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified with the storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. However, genetic evidence places it with pelicans and herons in the Pelecaniformes. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are more brown. It lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps from South Sudan to Zambia.
Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the class Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed internal skeleton. Lungfish represent the closest living relatives of the tetrapods. The mouths of lungfish typically bear tooth plates, which are used to crush hard shelled organisms.
The South American lungfish, also known as the American mud-fish and scaly salamanderfish, is the single species of lungfish found in swamps and slow-moving waters of the Amazon, Paraguay, and lower Paraná River basins in South America. Notable as an obligate air-breather, it is the sole member of its family Lepidosirenidae, although some authors also place Protopterus in the family. In Brazil, it is known by the indigenous language Tupi name piramboia, which means "snake-fish", and synonyms pirarucu-bóia, traíra-bóia, and caramuru.
Protopterus is the genus of four species of lungfish found in Africa. Protopterus is considered the sole genus in the family Protopteridae, which is grouped with Lepidosiren in the order Lepidosireniformes.
The marbled lungfish is a lungfish of the family Protopteridae. Also known as the leopard lungfish, it is found in Eastern and Central Africa, as well as the Nile region. At 133 billion base pairs, it has the largest known genome of any animal and one of the largest of any organism, along with the flowering plant Paris japonica and the protist Polychaos dubium at 150 billion and 670 billion, respectively.
The pond loach, also known as the Dojo loach, oriental weatherloach or oriental weatherfish, is a freshwater fish in the loach family Cobitidae. They are native to East Asia, but are also popular as an aquarium fish and introduced elsewhere in Asia and to Europe, America and Australia. The alternate name weather loach is shared with several other Cobitidae, including the other members of the genus Misgurnus and the spotted weather loach. This term comes from their ability to detect changes in barometric pressure before a storm and react with frantic swimming or standing on end.
The Nazca booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae, native to the eastern Pacific. First described by Walter Rothschild in 1902, it was long considered a subspecies of the masked booby until recognised as distinct genetically and behaviorally in 2002. It has a typical sulid body shape, with a long pointed orange-yellow bill, long neck, aerodynamic body, long slender wings and pointed tail. The adult is bright white with black and white wings, a black tail and a dark face mask.
Mudskippers are any of the 23 extant species of amphibious fish from the subfamily Oxudercinae of the goby family Oxudercidae. They are known for their unusual body shapes, preferences for semiaquatic habitats, limited terrestrial locomotion and jumping, and the ability to survive prolonged periods of time both in and out of water.
Euryhaline organisms are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. An example of a euryhaline fish is the short-finned molly, Poecilia sphenops, which can live in fresh water, brackish water, or salt water.
Merriam-Webster defines chemotaxonomy as the method of biological classification based on similarities and dissimilarity in the structure of certain compounds among the organisms being classified. Advocates argue that, as proteins are more closely controlled by genes and less subjected to natural selection than the anatomical features, they are more reliable indicators of genetic relationships. The compounds studied most are proteins, amino acids, nucleic acids, peptides etc.
The partridge pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Australia.
Alcolapia grahami, the Lake Magadi tilapia or Graham's cichlid, is a vulnerable species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is specialised to live in hot, alkaline waters in springs and lagoons around hypersaline lakes.
Osmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's body fluids, detected by osmoreceptors, to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is, it maintains the fluid balance and the concentration of electrolytes to keep the body fluids from becoming too diluted or concentrated. Osmotic pressure is a measure of the tendency of water to move into one solution from another by osmosis. The higher the osmotic pressure of a solution, the more water tends to move into it. Pressure must be exerted on the hypertonic side of a selectively permeable membrane to prevent diffusion of water by osmosis from the side containing pure water.
The gilled lungfish, also known as the East African lungfish, is a species of African lungfish. It is found in the swamps and flood plains of East Africa, and has been positively identified in Kenya, Somalia and Mozambique. Records from Tanzania require confirmation and may be the result of introductions.
The West African lungfish, also known as the Tana lungfish or simply African lungfish, is a species of African lungfish. It is found in a wide range of freshwater habitats in West and Middle Africa, as well as the northern half of Southern Africa.
There are two major sources of fish in Uganda; one is from aquaculture, the other from fishing in rivers and lakes. Different types of fish flourish in different water sources. The waters of Uganda contain an impressive array of fish species—over 90 in all. This count does not include the Haplochromis complex, which itself is made up of more than 200 species.
Drosophila acanthoptera is a species of fly in the genus Drosophila, whose females seldom remate.
Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase III is one of the three isoforms of the carbamoyl phosphate synthetase, an enzyme that catalyzes the active production of carbamoyl phosphate in many organisms.
Epeorus sylvicola is a species of mayfly belonging to the family Heptageniidae.
