We have already reported twice on the South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxus), on juveniles here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/02-living-fossils/lepidosiren-paradoxus-4/ and on the adult here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/29-lungfishes/lepidosiren_paradoxus_en/; in both posts you will find further information.
This species, which is widespread throughout South America, is a real rarity in the trade. We have just received some medium-sized specimens (8-10 cm and 15-18 cm) from Peru. Interestingly, the photographed, approx. 18 cm long lungfish still shows the juvenile coloration, i.e. yellow sparkling on a very dark, almost black base coloration.
By the way: last year (2024), the genome of all lungfish was decoded. This revealed that the South American lungfish has the largest genome of any animal species studied to date. The lepidosiran genome has 90 billion bases, which is twice as many as the Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri), whose genome was previously thought to be one of the largest. For comparison: the human genome has only 3 billion bases.
For our customers: the animals in 8-10 cm length have code 265502, 15-18 cm code 265505 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
