Strange Adaptations Abound

A fish with lungs and gills? Absolutely.

A fish that can walk? Certainly.

These strange adaptations come in handy when the shallow wetlands or streams where lungfish live, dry up and can be without water for many months. A lungfish burrows into the mud and secretes a layer of mucus around itself that dries into a cocoon, leaving an air hole to breath through its lungs.

Who’s related to who?

Lungfish appear in the fossil record around 4oo million years ago and have been mostly unchanged since that time. Their “walking fins” make alternating steps that are typical of land walkers and are considered the ancestor of animals with legs including amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

 

To learn more, download the Marbled Lungfish fact sheet.