Bichir

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

For the Lebanese-Mexican family, see Bichir family.

Bichir
Temporal range: Cretaceous–Recent [1]
Polypterus bichir
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Subclass: Cladistia
Order: Polypteriformes
Bleeker, 1859
Family: Polypteridae
Bonaparte, 1835
Type species
Polypterus bichir
Lacepède 1803
Genera

Erpetoichthys
Polypterus
See text for species.

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

Polypterids are considered the sister group to all other extant ray-finned fishes.[3][4]

Anatomy

Polypterids are elongated fish with a unique series of dorsal finlets which vary in number from seven to 18, instead of a single dorsal fin. Each of the dorsal finlets has bifid (double-edged) tips, and are the only fins with spines; the rest of the fins are composed of soft rays. The body is covered in thick, bonelike, and rhombic (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,[5] two gular plates, and paired ventral lungs (the left lung shorter than the right).[6] Four pairs of gill arches are present.[7]

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.[8]

Diet

Polypterids are nocturnal and feed on small vertebrates, crustaceans, and insects.[1]

Air breathing
Polypterus ornatipinnis

Polypterids possess paired lungs which connect to the esophagus via a glottis. They are facultative air-breathers, accessing surface air to breathe when the water they inhabit is poorly oxygenated.[9] Their lungs are highly vascularized to facilitate gas exchange. Deoxygenated arterial blood is brought to the lungs by paired pulmonary arteries, which branch from the fourth efferent branchial arteries (artery from the fourth gill arch), and oxygenated blood leaves the lungs in pulmonary veins. Unlike most lungfish and tetrapods, their lungs are smooth sacs instead of alveolated tissue. Polypterids are unique in that they breathe using recoil aspiration.[9] 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.[5]

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, and make good tankmates with other species large enough to not be prey. Some aquarists note that catfish attack (but do not kill) polypterids. Polypterids in captivity have life expectancies up to 10 years.

Species

The two genera have 12 extant species:[8]

Bawitius
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

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Order Polypteriformes

Suborder Polypterioidei

Clade Salamandrophysida

References
  1. Wiley, Edward G. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 75–76. 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. Suzuki, D.; Brandley, M. C.; Tokita, M. (2010). "The mitochondrial phylogeny of an ancient lineage of ray-finned fishes (Polypteridae) with implications for the evolution of body elongation, pelvic fin loss, and craniofacial morphology in Osteichthyes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10: 209. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-209. PMC 3055249. PMID 20624284.
  4. Dai Suzuki, Matthew C. Brandley, Masayoshi Tokita: CORRECTION: The mitochondrial phylogeny of an ancient lineage of ray-finned fishes (Polypteridae) with implications for the evolution of body elongation, pelvic fin loss, and craniofacial morphology in Osteichthyes. BMC Evolutionary Biology. Bd. 10, Art.-Nr. 209, 2010, doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-209
  5. Graham, Jeffrey (2014). "Spiracular air breathing in polypterid fishes and its implications for aerial respiration in stem tetrapods". Nature Communications. 5: 3022. Bibcode:2014NatCo...5.3022G. doi:10.1038/ncomms4022. PMID 24451680.
  6. Berra, Tim M. (2001). Freshwater Fish Distribution. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-093156-7
  7. AccessScience | Encyclopedia Article | Polypteriformes
  8. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Polypteridae" in FishBase. June 2011 version.
  9. Graham, J.B. 1997. Air-breathing Fishes: Evolution, diversity, and adaptation. San Diego: Academic Press. 299 p.
  10. Otero; Likius; Vignaud & Brunet (2006). "A new polypterid fish: Polypterus faraou sp. nov. (Cladistia, Polypteridae) from the Late Miocene, Toros-Menalla, Chad". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 146 (2): 227. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2006.00201.x.
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