lungfish

American  

[luhng-fish] / ˈlʌŋˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

lungfish,

plural

lungfishes

1. any of various slender, air-breathing fishes of the order (or subclass) Dipnoi, of rivers and lakes in Africa, South America, and Australia, having a lunglike air bladder as well as gills and growing to a length of 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters).

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lungfish British  

/ ˈlʌŋˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any freshwater bony fish of the subclass Dipnoi, having an air-breathing lung, fleshy paired fins, and an elongated body. The only living species are those of the genera Lepidosiren of South America, Protopterus of Africa, and Neoceratodus of Australia

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lungfish Scientific  

/ lŭng′fĭsh′ /

1. Any of several tropical freshwater fish of the order or subclass Dipnoi that, in addition to having gills, have lunglike organs for breathing air. Lungfish have a long, narrow body, and certain species can survive periods of drought inside a mucus-lined cocoon in the mud. The lungfish and the coelacanths are the only living lobe-finned fishes.

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Etymology

Origin of lungfish

First recorded in 1880–85; lung + fish

Example Sentences

Fish such as wolf fish, peacock bass, and South American lungfish were especially common, accompanied by reptiles including caimans and turtles, and mammals such as capybaras, pacas, and armadillos.

From Science Daily

Frogs, salamanders and lungfish had far bigger genomes than humans did.

From New York Times

And in the cargo hold of a steamship, a young lungfish arrived from Australia to a new home at an aquarium in San Francisco.

From New York Times

Seeking to learn about the evolutionary origins of acoustic communication in vertebrates, the scientists recorded 53 species from four major clades — turtles, tuatara, caecilians and lungfish — to analyze what they heard.

From Salon

He also wants to compare the sounds of land vertebrate and lungfish with those of other fish to see whether the acoustic evolutionary tree extends even further back in time.

From Science Magazine