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

"The exceptional lungfish skull unearthed in 410 million-year-old rocks in Yunnan gives us major insights into the rapid evolutionary diversification between the early-, mid- and late Devonian."

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026

For example, lungfish and sharks have spiral-shaped digestive tracts that leave poop with twisty swirls.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 27, 2024

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

From New York Times • May 31, 2024

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 • Nov. 9, 2022

This assures the zo�logist that the origin of the lungs in the higher animals is found in the swim-bladder of the so-called lungfish.

From The Meaning of Evolution by Schmucker, Samuel Christian