Bichir

The bichir is a long fish.

It lives in warm, fresh water. These fish have many small fins on their backs. Their bodies are covered in thick, hard scales. They can breathe air using lungs. This helps them live in shallow water. They like to eat small bugs and shrimp. They mostly hunt at night. Some people call them dragon fish. They can live for a long time in tanks.

These fish are very interesting to see!

The bichir is a very old kind of fish.

These fish live in warm, fresh water. You can find them in Africa. They like swampy areas and shallow rivers.

Bichirs have long bodies. Instead of one big fin on their back, they have many small finlets. These finlets have sharp tips. Their skin is covered in thick, bony scales.

Bichirs have a special way to breathe. They have two lungs. These lungs help them when the water has very little air. They can breathe air through slits on their heads called spiracles. This is helpful in very shallow water.

Most bichirs hunt at night. They eat small insects and tiny animals. They use a great sense of smell to find food. Some people call them dragon fish because they look like dragons. In pet tanks, they can live for over 30 years. They like to hide in plants on the bottom of the tank.

The bichir is a very special kind of fish. These fish belong to a group called Polypteridae. This family includes the bichir and the reedfish. They live in freshwater in tropical Africa. You can find them in the Nile River system too. They love swampy areas and shallow floodplains. They also like to live in estuaries.

Bichirs have a very unique way of working. They have a long body with many small finlets. These finlets are on their back instead of one big fin. Most of their fins are soft, but these finlets have spines. Each finlet has a double-edged tip. Their bodies are covered in thick, bony scales. These scales are shaped like diamonds.

These fish have a very long history. They likely split from other ray-finned fishes 330 million years ago. The oldest polypterids are about 100 million years old. These fossils come from South America and Africa. They lived during the early Late Cretaceous period. One extinct genus is named Bawitius.

Bichirs have amazing ways to breathe air. They have two lungs that are like smooth sacs. The right lung is large and goes the whole length of the body. The left lung is smaller and reaches the stomach. They use slits on their heads called spiracles to breathe. This helps when the water has very little oxygen. They can also breathe through their mouths.

Many people keep bichirs in large tanks at home. Some pet shops call them dragon fish. This is because they look like dragons. They are mostly peaceful fish that stay on the bottom. They like to hide among many large plants. They can live for 10 to over 30 years. They use a great sense of smell to find food at night.

Bichirs are unique members of the family Polypteridae. This family includes the bichir and the reedfish. They are considered archaic ray-finned fishes. This means they are an ancient lineage of fish. They are the only family within the order Polypteriformes. These fish live in freshwater habitats across tropical Africa. You can also find them in the Nile River system. They prefer swampy areas, shallow floodplains, and estuaries.

The anatomy of a bichir is very distinct. They have elongated bodies covered in ganoid scales. These are thick, bony scales shaped like diamonds. Instead of one large dorsal fin, they have a series of dorsal finlets. There are between seven and 18 of these finlets. Each finlet has bifid tips, which means they are double-edged. These finlets are the only fins that possess spines. The rest of their fins consist of soft rays. Their fleshy pectoral fins look similar to those of lobe-finned fishes.

Bichirs have a fascinating way of breathing air. They are facultative air-breathers. This means they can breathe air when water oxygen is low. They possess two paired lungs that are unchambered sacs. The right lung is larger and spans the whole body cavity. The left lung is smaller and reaches the stomach. A slit-like opening called a glottis connects the esophagus to the right lung. A separate opening leads to the left lung. They use a process called recoil aspiration to breathe. They also have spiracles on their heads to breathe air.

Blood moves through the lungs in a specific way. Deoxygenated blood travels through paired pulmonary arteries. These branch from the fourth efferent branchial arteries. This means they come from the fourth gill arch. Once the blood is oxygenated, it leaves through pulmonary veins. The lungs are highly vascularized to help with gas exchange. This high level of blood vessels makes breathing efficient. This system allows them to survive in poorly oxygenated water.

The history of these fish stretches back millions of years. They likely diverged from other ray-finned fishes 330 million years ago. A related group called Scanilepiformes lived during the Permian and Triassic periods. These are likely the ancestors of the polypterids. The oldest known polypterid fossils are about 100 million years old. These fossils date to the early Late Cretaceous. They have been found in both South America and Africa. One extinct genus from this time is called Bawitius.

There are 14 living species of bichirs today. These belong to two main genera: Polypterus and Erpetoichthys. The genus Erpetoichthys includes the reedfish. The genus Polypterus includes many different groups. These include the Senegalus group and the Weeksii group. Some species are known as the Nile bichir or the mottled bichir. They are nocturnal predators that hunt at night. They use an extraordinary olfactory ability to find prey. They eat insects, crustaceans, and small vertebrates.

Bichirs are popular in the aquarium hobby. Some pet shops call them "dragon bichirs." This name comes from their dragon-like appearance. They are generally peaceful fish that stay near the bottom. They do well in tanks with many large plants. This mimics their natural swampy habitats. In captivity, they can live for 10 to over 30 years. They are good tankmates for fish that are large enough not to be eaten. However, some catfish may eat the slime coat off of them.