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Lobe-Finned Fish (Sarcopterygii)

By Warren Paar, Kristen Murray, etc.

Interesting "Fun Fact"-

Only two families of lungfish have survived today, while we have fossil record of seven. Of the two families that survive, only three genera are alive today, one for each continent they are present on, Africa, South America, and Australia. Although it only exists as six different species today, there use to be many more species and all but six of these are extinct today. Lungfishes can be traced back to the Lower Devonian area and they haven't changed much in the million of years that passed since then. In fact there are studies suggesting that the Australian lungfish haven't changed in 100 million years.

More Fun

Lungfish have a unique respiratory system consisting of one or two “primitive” lungs much like those of amphibians. Just like human beings the lungfish possess a ventral lung. To breathe, the fish simply swims upward, opens its mouth, and sucks air from just above the water

Nourishment-

Salt Regulation and Nitrogenous Waste Secretion

Lungfish will eat snails, clams, prawns, worms, water flies, and water plants. They sense the presence of their food by using mechanical sensors in the skin of the head and body.

Coelacanths have unique kidneys that are fused into a single organ, located on the floor of their abdomen instead of just under the backbone. Coelacanth are characterized by their lobe-fins (rounded fins) and are the only known living species with a functioning intracranial joint (helps it swallow larger prey). Their pectoral and anal fins are reinforced by bone. The tail is split into three segments and the notochord runs through the middle. Being nocturnal they have extremely light sensitive eyes as well as a rostal organ located in the front of the skull that serves as an electric field receptor to detect its prey. The swim bladder lies beneath the notochord and instead of being filled with air, its filled with fats to increase buoyancy. Most unique about the coelacanth is, unlike most other vertebrae, the notochord never evolved into a spinal cord.

Lungfish instead of having gas bladders like those of other fish, the lungs of the lungfish are divided in to numerous smaller air sacs to maximize gas exchange.

Coelacanths feed near the bottom of the ocean and have been known to eat lantern fish, stout beard fish, cardinal fish, squids, eels, and nearly any other fishes found in their habitat.

Characteristics-

The most important features of lobe-finned fish is the lobe in their fins. Unlike other fish, Lobe-finned fish have a central appendage in their fins containing many bones and muscles. The fins are very flexible and potentially useful for supporting the body on land, as in lungfish and tetrapods (vertebrates with four limbs). Tetrapods are thought to have evolved from primitive lobe-finned fish.

Morphology-

Reproduction-

Sarcopterygians are characterized by their fleshy pectoral and pelvic (paired) fins that articulate with the pectoral (shoulder) and pelvic (hip) girdles via a single bone. This is apparent in the coelacanths and lungfishes, which are more intuitively fish-like. These lobe-fins gave rise to the paired limbs of tetrapods, with the single bones representing the humerus (forelimb) and femur (hindlimb). Their tail is diphycercal.

Lungfish lay eggs annually and are very particular about where they lay their eggs, choosing the same spots each year. Lungfish lay their eggs close to the shore and prefer flowing water. The offspring or larvae emerge a week after they are laid and have fan like gills that are used until their lungs are fully developed. The gills are not external gills but internal gills.

Coelacanths are ovoviparous, meaning that Coelacanth embryos are developed inside eggs retained in the mothers body. The eggs are developed inside the oviduct, feeding of a large yolk sac until birth.

Taxonomy-

These are the fins of various amphibians and Sarcopterygii

Sarcopterygii is a Class under the Phylum Chordata that comprises four genera and eight species (six species of lung fish and two of coelacanths).

Habitat-

The two main types of Sarcopterygii, lungfish and coelacanths, live in very different places. Coelacanths are hard to catch, deep-sea creatures, living in depths up to 700 meters. They can grow to two meters in length or more and weigh up to 90 kilograms. It is estimated that they can live up to 60 years or more. Lungfish are freshwater fish, normally found in still or slow flowing pools, living only in Africa, South America, and Australia. The Australian lungfish grows to about 1.5 m in length and over 40 kg. It occurs naturally in the Burnett and Mary River systems in Queensland and has been introduced into other rivers and dams in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales.

Evolution and Phylogeny-

Primitive lobe-finned fish evolved, during the Devonian period, to be able to survive on land with the addition of limbs and lungs (developed from an outgrowth of the pharynx). These fish were able to breath air and eventually became the early tetrapods and amphibians.

The habitats of these fish

Bibliography-

1."Sarcopterygii." Untamed Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2017.

2."Lobe-Finned Fish (Sarcopterygii) - Animal Biology Spring 2011." Google Sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2017.

3. Introduction to the Sarcopterygii. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2017.

4. Hickman, Cleveland P., Jr. Integrated Principals of Zoology. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print.

Conclusion-

Sarcopterygii are an interesting division of fish that evolved into the first tetrapods. Additionally, the Sarcopterygii is known for having enamel on the teeth.

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