Just learning

[E_americanus]

photos of all species of lungfishes:

www.primitivefish.com (go to the lungfish section)

 

[filiportela]

My AUL was part of a pair I bought. But, they became waspish towards each other so, I traded one for tropical gars. My AUL is in a community setup with some of my lower-jaw polys, an african aro, a trio of tropical gars, and a couple of albino irridescent sharks. All get along fine.

just love that lung

 

[MrGuyPerson]

I've noticed that the Auls seem quite distinct from other varieties. So different that I'm suprised they are in the same grouping. Is it just the "lung" that keeps these guys associated so closely? Whats the difference between the organ found in these as compared to a labyrinth fish?

Lungfish have actual lungs. The swim bladder in most ray-finned bony fishes is derived from the early lung. Gar, a primitive ray-finned fish, have a highly vascularized swim bladder that can still function as a respiratory organ, much like a lung. The labyrinth organ is an outgrowth of the upper portion of the gill arches in Anabantoid fishes. Other fishes have similar organs (Clarius, Channa). It's entirely unrelated to the lung of lungfish.

Also, the AUL is the most basal (primitive) of the lungfish, so it retains many basal characteristics (large scales, paddle-like fins etc). It also only has one lung, vs. the two of the SAL and AL, and cannot survive on atmospheric oxygen alone, whereas the other two groups would drown without it. They do look a lot different, and are, but they are still lungfish. I think the greatest confusion (i.e. they don't look like the others, so why are they lungfish) is that they are the sole remaining species of their order, whereas the SAL and AL comprise a different order of their own. This means that there are 5 species that look very similar, and one that doesn't, so the initial instinct would be that it doesn't belong.

Lungfish used to be very diverse, but unfortunately today we only have 6 species left, 5 of which are much more derived (advanced) than the other. Just think if cetaceans (whales) and rodents were the only groups of mammals left. They don't look that much alike but they are more related to each other than, say, a bird.

Hope that helps.