Ancient Species

Lungfish

Most fish have a swim bladder which is used for buoyancy when swimming. In lungfish this has been modified to absorb oxygen. This allows the lungfish to breathe air and survive period when the pool of water in which it lives dries up.

Lungfish first appeared in the Carboniferous Period (354 to 286 million years ago). Most types became extinct in the "great extinction" at the end of the Triassic Period (about 213 million years ago). Three species survive today, one each in Australia, South America and Africa.