Bichir

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Lebanese-Mexican family, see Bichir family.

Bichir
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Recent[1]
Nile bichir Polypterus bichir
Barred bichir
Polypterus delhezi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Subclass: Cladistia
Order: Polypteriformes
Bleeker, 1859
Family: Polypteridae
Bonaparte, 1835
Type species
Polypterus bichir
Genera

Erpetoichthys

Polypterus
See text for species.

Red:
Erpetoichthys
 extant

Bichirs /ˈbɪʃɪərz/ and the reedfish comprise Polypteridae /pɒlɪpˈtɛrɪdiː/, a family of archaic ray-finned fishes and the only family in the order Polypteriformes /pəˈlɪptərɪfɔːrmiːz/.[2]

All the

freshwater habitats in tropical Africa and the Nile River system, mainly swampy, shallow floodplains and estuaries
.

Cladistia, polypterids and their fossil relatives, are considered the sister group to all other extant ray-finned fishes (Actinopteri).[3][4] They likely diverged from Actinopteri at least 330 million years ago. A closely related group, the Scanilepiformes, are known from the later Permian to the Triassic, and are likely ancestral to polypterids. The oldest polypterids are around 100 million years old, from the early Late Cretaceous of South America and Africa.[5][6][7]

Anatomy

Polypterids are elongated

ganoid) scales. Their jaw structure more closely resembles that of the tetrapods than that of the teleost fishes. Bichirs have a number of other primitive characteristics, including fleshy pectoral fins superficially similar to those of lobe-finned fishes.[1] They also have a pair of slit-like spiracles on the top of their heads that are used to breathe air,[8] two gular plates, and paired ventral lungs.[9] Both lungs are unchambered sacs. The larger right lung reaches the whole length of the body cavity, while the smaller left lung extends to the stomach. A slit-like opening called the glottis located on the ventral side of the oesophagus leads to the right lung, and a separate opening on the right lung leads to the left lung.[10] Four pairs of gill arches are present.[11]

Polypterids have a maximum body length ranging from 25 cm (9.8 in) to over 100 cm (39 in) depending on specific species and morphology.[12]

Diet and traits

Polypterids are nocturnal and feed on small vertebrates, crustaceans, and insects.[1] Their common aquarium diet includes bloodworms (Chironomidae larvae). Polypterids are known to have extraordinary olfactory ability.[citation needed] Polypterid reproduction consists of the female laying anywhere from 100 to 300 eggs over the span of a few days, and subsequent fertilization by the male.[13]

Air breathing

Polypterids possess paired

tetrapods, their lungs are smooth sacs instead of alveolated tissue. Polypterids are unique in that they breathe using recoil aspiration.[14] Polypterids appear to prefer breathing air via their spiracles when undisturbed or in extremely shallow waters where they are unable to incline their body enough to breathe air through their mouth.[8]

Polypterids as aquarium specimens

Polypterids are popular subjects of public and large hobby aquaria. They are sometimes called dragon bichir or dragon fin in pet shops for a more appealing name due to their dragon-like appearance. Though predatory, they are otherwise peaceful, preferring to lie on the bottom (they tend to swim when there are lots of large plants present), and make good tankmates with other species large enough to not be prey but small enough to not eat them. Some aquarists note that pleco catfish eat the slime coat off of polypterids. Polypterids in captivity have life expectancies of 10–30+ years. They do well in heavily planted tanks as it mimics their natural habitat.

Classification

In addition to the

Erpetoichthys, have 14 extant species:[12]

Phylogeny of Polypteridae.[3][4]
Polypteridae

Erpetoichthys calabaricus

Polypterus

P. retropinnis

P. congicus

P. ansorgii

P. endlicheri

P. bichir

P. mokelembembe

P. ornatipinnis

P. weeksii

P. teugelsi

P. palmas

P. senegalus

P. delhezi

P. polli

Restoration of †Bawitius
Polypterus endlicheri
Polypterus ornatipinnis
Polypterus delhezi

Order Polypteriformes

Suborder Polypterioidei

Clade Salamandrophysida

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-12-547665-2
    .
  2. ^ Helfman GS, Collette BB, Facey DE, Bowen BW. 2009. The Diversity of Fishes. West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Publishing. 720 p.
  3. ^
    PMID 20624284
    .
  4. ^
    doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-209
  5. S2CID 8026535
    .
  6. S2CID 205259531
    .
  7. ^ Bakaev, A. S.; Kogan, I. (2022). "Squamation of the Permian actinopterygian Toyemia Minich, 1990: evenkiid (Scanilepiformes) affinities and implications for the origin of polypteroid scales". www.geology.cz. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  8. ^
    PMID 24451680
    .
  9. ISBN 0-12-093156-7
  10. ^ Innervation of lung and heart in the ray-finned fish, bichirs
  11. ^ AccessScience | Encyclopedia Article | Polypteriformes
  12. ^ a b Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2023). "Polypteridae" in FishBase. October 2023 version.
  13. ^ "Breeding Bichirs". www.aquaticcommunity.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  14. ^ a b Graham, J.B. 1997. Air-breathing Fishes: Evolution, diversity, and adaptation. San Diego: Academic Press. 299 p.
  15. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2006.00201.x
    .

External links
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