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Lung fish - Definition and Overview |
| Related Words: Anus, Appendix, Bellows, Brain, Cecum, Colon, Duodenum, Endocardium, Giblets, Gills, Gizzard, Guts, Heart, Hindgut, Intestine, Jejunum, Kidney |
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For the musical band, see Lungfish (band).
Lungfishes are sarcopterygian fish that can breathe air (and in some species are obligate air-breathers), and have limb-like appendages instead of fins. There are six living species known; four in Africa, and one each in South America and Australia.
They all have an elongate body, four limbs, and a single rear fin.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy of lungfishes presents some difficulty because of their resemblances to both fish and land-dwelling vertebrates, and have been classified in a variety of ways, ranging from class Dipnoi, to infraclass Dipnomorpha, to order Dipteriformes. However, there is general agreement that there are two main subcategories, here given as orders:
- Ceratodontiformes: characterized by having broad flipper-like fins and an unpaired lung.
- Lepidosireniformes: characterized by having thread-like fins and paired lungs.
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