Lepidosiren paradoxa Fitzinger, 1837

South American lungfish

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Sarcopterygii \| Lepidosireniformes \| Lepidosirenidae
Synonyms	Lepidosiren articulata, ... more
Common names	... more

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Main reference

Arratia, G. 2003. (Ref. 36887)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 125 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 36887); max. reported age: 8 years (Ref. 274)

Environment

Demersal; freshwater

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 24°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060); 5°N - 35°S

South America: Amazon, Paraguay and lower Paraná River basins.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Prefers stagnant waters where there is little current. Juveniles feed on larval insects and snails. Adults are omnivorous and feed on aquatic vertebrates, invertebrates such as snails, clams and shrimp, and algae (Ref. 36739). Can survive low oxygen levels in its habitat by means of its very reduced branchial apparatus. It possesses two lungs without bronchial tubes. During the dry period, this species burrows into the mud, to a depth of about 30-50 cm, and seals off the entrance with clay, leaving out 2-3 holes for aeration. It reduces its metabolism during this period of hibernation. The fish are obligate air-breathers and will drown if denied access to the surface (Ref. 36739). During the rainy season, reproduction begins. The parents gather vegetal debris in a burrow (about 1.5 m long) to create a nest. During reproduction, the males guard the young. The males can increase the oxygen level in the burrow because during breading season the pelvic fins develop highly vascularized, gill-like, feathery structures which perform a function opposite to those of gills: they releases oxygen from the blood and take in carbon dioxide; the filaments disappear after the end of the breeding season (Ref. 12225, 36739). The young look like amphibian tadpoles with four external gills. During the first weeks of their life they breath only through the external gills; at an age of 7 weeks they become air-breathing and regression of the external gills begins (Ref. 27188, 36739).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)

PD₅₀ = 1.5352

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Assuming tmax > 30)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
High vulnerability (61 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Binohlan, Crispina B.

Modified by Torres, Armi G.

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Page last modified by : celloran, 20 January 2010

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