Polypterus
Encyclopedia
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
in the bichir
Bichir
The bichirs are a family, Polypteridae, of archaic-looking ray-finned fishes, the sole family in the order Polypteriformes.All species occur in freshwater habitats in tropical Africa and the Nile River system, mainly swampy, shallow floodplains and estuaries.-Anatomy and appearance:Bichirs are...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(family Polypteridae) of order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Polypteriformes. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is the Nile bichir
Polypterus bichir
Polypterus bichir is also known as the Nile bichir, is a fish which lives in the Nile River, Africa, and some of its tributaries.- Description :...
(P. bichir). Fishes in this genus live in various areas in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(as the species' common names would indicate). The etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
of the genus name derives from a combination of the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
prefix πολυ-, poly- (many) and the root word πτερον, pteron (wing or fin) – "many fins."
In captivity
Zoo BaselZoo Basel
Zoo Basel is a non-profit zoo located within the city of Basel, Switzerland. Its official name is Zoologischer Garten Basel — or in English: Basel Zoological Garden. Basel residents, however, call their zoo affectionately Zolli...
was successful in breeding this rare fish. In December 2005 several eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
were laid and at the beginning of 2006 six young polypterus' hatched. Within 2 months they reached 10 cm (about 3 inches).
Species
- Polypterus ansorgiiPolypterus ansorgiiPolypterus ansorgii, commonly called Guinean Bichir, is a bony fish from rivers and other freshwater habitats in Western Africa, ranging from Guinea-Bissau to Nigeria. It reaches a maximum length of , is greenish-brown to black in color and has large, dark spots and blotches on its flanks. On...
BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1910 (Guinean bichir) - Polypterus bichirPolypterus bichirPolypterus bichir is also known as the Nile bichir, is a fish which lives in the Nile River, Africa, and some of its tributaries.- Description :...
Lacépède, 1803- Polypterus bichir bichir Lacepède, 1803 (Nile bichir)
- Polypterus bichir katangae PollMax PollMax Fernand Leon Poll was a Belgian ichthyologist who specialised in Cichlidae.In the years 1946 and 1947 he organised an expedition to Lake Tanganyika....
, 1941 - Polypterus bichir lapradei SteindachnerFranz SteindachnerFranz Steindachner was an Austrian zoologist.- Work and career :Being interested in natural history, Steindachner took up the study of fossil fishes on the recommendation of his friend Eduard Suess...
, 1869
- Polypterus delheziPolypterus delheziThe armoured bichir or banded bichir is a snake-like fish that ranges from the Congo River, specifically in the upper and middle portions. This species is one of the more commonly available in commercial pet stores.....
BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1899 (Barred bichir) - Polypterus endlicheri HeckelJohann Jakob HeckelJohann Jakob Heckel was an Austrian taxidermist, zoologist, and ichthyologist from Mannheim.Though not a formally trained zoologist he worked his way up through the ranks to eventually become the director of the Fish Collection at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna...
, 1847,- Polypterus endlicheri congicus BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1898 (Congo bichir) - Polypterus endlicheri endlicheriPolypterus endlicheri endlicheriThe Saddled Bichir, Polypterus endlicheri endlicheri,is a prototypical species of the Polypterus genus, meaning most of its features are held across the genus.-Appearance:...
Heckel, 1847 (Saddled bichir)
- Polypterus endlicheri congicus Boulenger
- Polypterus mokelembembe Schliewen & Schäfer, 2006 (Mokèlé-mbèmbé bichir)
- Polypterus ornatipinnis BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1902 (Ornate bichir) - Polypterus palmas AyresWilliam Orville AyresWilliam Orville Ayres was an American physician and ichthyologist. Born in Connecticut, he studied to become a doctor at Yale University School of Medicine....
, 1850 (Shortfin bichir)- Polypterus palmas buettikoferi SteindachnerFranz SteindachnerFranz Steindachner was an Austrian zoologist.- Work and career :Being interested in natural history, Steindachner took up the study of fossil fishes on the recommendation of his friend Eduard Suess...
, 1891 (Buettikofer's bichir) - Polypterus palmas palmas Ayres, 1850 (Shortfin bichir)
- Polypterus palmas polli J. P. Gosse, 1988 (Poll's bichir)
- Polypterus palmas buettikoferi Steindachner
- Polypterus retropinnis Vaillant, 1899 (West African bichir)
- Polypterus senegalus CuvierGeorges CuvierGeorges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, 1829 (Gray bichir)- Polypterus senegalus meridionalis PollMax PollMax Fernand Leon Poll was a Belgian ichthyologist who specialised in Cichlidae.In the years 1946 and 1947 he organised an expedition to Lake Tanganyika....
, 1941 - Polypterus senegalus senegalus Cuvier, 1829
- Polypterus senegalus meridionalis Poll
- Polypterus teugelsi Britz, 2004 (Cross River bichir)
- Polypterus weeksii BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1898 (Mottled bichir)