Spotted lungfish

Spotted lungfish
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Sarcopterygii
Class:	Dipnoi
Order:	Ceratodontiformes
Family:	Protopteridae
Genus:	Protopterus
Species:	P. dolloi
Binomial name
Protopterus dolloi Boulenger, 1900[2][3]

The spotted lungfish or slender lungfish (Protopterus dolloi) is a species of lungfish from Middle Africa, where found in the Congo, Kouilou-Niari and Ogowe river basins.^[1][3] It is one of four extant species in the genus Protopterus.

The slender lungfish is a freshwater fish and it largely inhabits the middle and lower Congo River basin.^[3] It is a primarily demersal fish, dwelling in the riverbeds of the above basins and in Stanley Pool.^[3][1] During spawning season, females can be found in open water.^[3][1]

The slender lungfish has an anguilliform body, much like an eel.^[3] The body of the slender lungfish is generally brown; young of the species oftentimes have black spots throughout the body, however adults generally lose these spots as they age.^[3] Like all African lungfish the slender lungfish is an obligate air-breather and is capable of aestivation; however, it generally does not aestivate.^[3] When it does aestivate, the lungfish creates a dry mucus cocoon on land.^[4] As most tropical fish are ammoniotelic, being on land can induce ammonia toxicity – with negative organismal and cellular level consequences – due to a lack of water to flush excreted ammonia from the gills and other cutaneous surfaces.^[4] Studies have shown that the slender lungfish has evolved the ability to reduce endogenous ammonia production, as well as an ornithine-urea cycle to increase the conversion rate of ammonia to less toxic urea, to defend against this toxicity.^[4][5]

Spotted lungfish nests are generally found in June through October.^[1] During this time period the male makes a nest and buries it in mud, not unlike the marbled lungfish mating behavior.^[1] He guards both eggs and larvae during this time.^[3][1] The female does not take care of the young but rather during this time can be found open water in rivers within its range.^[3]

• [1]
• http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/207/5/777
• Fishman, A. P., Pack, A. I., Delaney, R. G. and Gallante, R. J. (1987). Estivation in Protopterus. In The Biology and Evolution of Lungfishes(ed.) W. E. Bemis, W. W. Burggren and N. E. Kemp), pp. 163–179. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.

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