# Marbled lungfish

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{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Marbled lungfish
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|7.246|Present}}
| image = Leopard lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) close - GRB.JPG
| image2 = Marbled lungfish 1.jpg
| image2_caption = Close-up of head (above), swimming with head at top and back turned towards camera (below)
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref=<ref>{{cite iucn|author=Snoeks, J.|year=2018|title=''Protopterus aethiopicus''|article-number=e.T182574A58331340|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T182574A58331340.en|access-date=9 July 2025}}</ref>
| genus = Protopterus
| species = aethiopicus
| authority = [Heckel](/source/Johann_Jakob_Heckel), 1851<ref name = fishbase>[http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=8734 Fishbase.org]</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = * ''[Protopterus aethiopicus aethiopicus](/source/Protopterus_aethiopicus_aethiopicus)'' <small>Heckel, 1851</small>
* ''[Protopterus aethiopicus congicus](/source/Protopterus_aethiopicus_congicus)'' <small>[Poll](/source/Max_Poll) 1961</small>
* ''[Protopterus aethiopicus mesmaekersi](/source/Protopterus_aethiopicus_mesmaekersi)'' <small>[Poll](/source/Max_Poll) 1961</small>
| range_map = Protopterus aethiopicus map.jpg
| range_map_caption = Red:extant, Light red: possibly extant, Green: introduced
| synonyms = * ''Lepidosiren arnaudii'' <small>de Castelnau 1855</small>
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="mikko">{{cite web|website=Mikko's Phylogeny Archive|last=Haaramo|first=Mikko|year=2007|title=''Ceratodiformes – recent lungfishes'' |url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/sarcopterygii/dipnomorpha/ceratodiformes.html |access-date= 3 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=FB>{{Cite web|last1=Froese|first1=R.|last2=Pauly|first2=D.|year=2017|title=Protopteridae |url=http://fishbase.org/Summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=552|website=[FishBase](/source/FishBase) version (02/2017)|access-date=18 May 2017}}</ref>
}}

The '''marbled lungfish''' ('''''Protopterus aethiopicus''''') is a [lungfish](/source/lungfish) of the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Protopteridae](/source/Protopteridae). Also known as the '''leopard lungfish''', it is found in [Eastern](/source/East_Africa) and [Central Africa](/source/Central_Africa), as well as the [Nile](/source/Nile) region. At 133 billion [base pairs](/source/base_pairs),<ref>{{cite journal | author = IJ Leitch | date = 13 June 2007 | title = Genome sizes through the ages | journal = Heredity | volume = 99 | pages = 121–122 | publisher = Nature Publishing Group | issn = 0018-067X | doi = 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800981 | pmid = 17565357 | issue=2| s2cid = 5406138 }}</ref> it has the largest known [genome](/source/genome) of any [animal](/source/animal) and one of the largest of any [organism](/source/organism), along with the [flowering plant](/source/flowering_plant) ''[Paris japonica](/source/Paris_japonica)'', the [fern](/source/fern) ''[Tmesipteris oblanceolata](/source/Tmesipteris_oblanceolata)'' and the [protist](/source/protist) ''[Polychaos dubium](/source/Polychaos_dubium)'' at 150 billion, 160 billion and 670 billion, respectively.

The marbled lungfish is caught in large numbers throughout much of its range, including several hundred tonnes per year in [Mwanza Region](/source/Mwanza_Region)'s Mwanza Gulf of [Lake Victoria](/source/Lake_Victoria) alone.<ref name=Sayer2018>{{cite book | author1=Sayer, C.A. | author2=L. Máiz-Tomé | author3=W.R.T. Darwall | year=2018 | title=Freshwater biodiversity in the Lake Victoria Basin: Guidance for species conservation, site protection, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods | publisher=Cambridge, UK and Gland, Switzerland: IUCN | doi=10.2305/IUCN.CH.2018.RA.2.en | isbn=978-2-8317-1896-5 }}</ref> It is mostly a food fish, although this varies depending on the exact community, with some recognizing it as a delicacy and others strongly disliking its taste or considering it as a [taboo](/source/taboo) to eat it. In some regions, parts of this fish are used as [traditional medicine](/source/traditional_medicine).<ref name=Sayer2018/>

==Description==
The marbled lungfish is smooth, elongated, and cylindrical with deeply embedded [scales](/source/scale_(zoology)). The tail is very long and has tapers at the end. They can reach a length of up to {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name = fishbase/> The pectoral and pelvic fins are also very long and thin, almost spaghetti-like, used for gliding through the water. The newly hatched young have branched external gills much like those of newts. After two to three months, the young [metamorphose](/source/metamorphosis) into the adult form, losing their [external gills](/source/external_gills) for gill openings. These fish have a yellowish gray or pinkish-toned ground color with dark slate-gray splotches, creating a marbling or leopard effect over their bodies and fins. The color pattern is darker along the top and lighter below.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070614211811/http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Misc_PseudoBony/LeopardLungfish.php Animal-world.com]</ref> It was once believed that marbled lungfish are obligate air breathers, however, research published in 2007 suggests that the marbled lungfish primarily relies on aquatic respiration unless restricted by certain ecological or physiological conditions.<ref>(Mlewa, C. M., et al. "Are Wild African Lungfish Obligate Air Breathers? Some Evidence from Radio Telemetry." African Zoology, vol. 42, no. 1, Apr. 2007, pp. 131–134. EBSCOhost)</ref>

==Distribution==
''Protopterus aethiopicus'' is found in the African countries of [Angola](/source/Angola), [Burundi](/source/Burundi), [Egypt](/source/Egypt), [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia), the [Democratic Republic of Congo](/source/Democratic_Republic_of_Congo), [Kenya](/source/Kenya), [Republic of the Congo](/source/Republic_of_the_Congo), [Rwanda](/source/Rwanda), [South Sudan](/source/South_Sudan), [Sudan](/source/Sudan), [Tanzania](/source/Tanzania), [Uganda](/source/Uganda) and [Zambia](/source/Zambia). Among others, it lives in the [Nile](/source/Nile) and [Congo River](/source/Congo_River) basins, including lakes such as [Albert](/source/Lake_Albert_(Africa)), [Edward](/source/Lake_Edward), [Tanganyika](/source/Lake_Tanganyika), [Victoria](/source/Lake_Victoria), [Nabugabo](/source/Lake_Nabugabo), [Turkana](/source/Lake_Turkana), [No](/source/Lake_No) and [Kyoga](/source/Lake_Kyoga).<ref name = fishbase /> Different subspecies are found in different areas: ''P. a. aethiopicus'' lives in the Nile basin and its lakes like Victoria and Tanganyika, ''P. a. congicus'' in the middle and upper Congo River, and ''P. a. mesmaekersi'' in the lower Congo.<ref name = fishbase />

== Habitat ==
Adult marbled lungfish live in swamps, riverbeds, floodplains, and river deltas throughout its range.<ref name = fishbase /> The juvenile members of the species often live in between the roots of [papyrus](/source/papyrus) plants.<ref name = fishbase /> Despite being aquatic, adult marbled lungfish can live in riverbeds and other areas that have no rain for portions of the year due to their ability to [estivate](/source/estivate) or burrow in the ground to form an air bubble and breathe out of a hole in the cocoon thus formed.<ref name = fishbase />

== Reproduction ==
Breeding generally occurs during flood season, during which time males prepare a pit nest.<ref name = fishbase /> One or more females may use the same pit nest, into which they lay their eggs.<ref name = fishbase /> The female(s) then leaves the nest and the male guards the nest from attack for the next 8 weeks; in addition, he regularly fills the nest with air to ensure that the newly-laid eggs survive.<ref name = fishbase /> Research experiments conducted on marbled lungfish in Lake Baringo, Kenya, Africa reveal that the marbled lungfish actually reproduce regularly throughout the year as observed by the presence of lungfish in all maturity stages in all monthly samples. Additionally, based on the growth trajectories from R. Dunbarck's experiments suggests that overall, the marbled lungfish have a low reproductive effort and reach maturity around the age of 3 years.<ref>(Dunbrack, R., et al. "Marbled Lungfish Growth Rates in Lake Baringo, Kenya, Estimated by Mark-Recapture." Journal of Fish Biology, vol. 68, no. 2, 2006, pp. 443–449., doi:10.1111/j.0022-1112.2006.00906.x.)</ref><ref>(Mlewa, Chrisestom Mwatete, and John M. Green. "Biology of the Marbled Lungfish, Protopterus Aethiopicus Heckel, in Lake Baringo, Kenya." African Journal of Ecology, vol. 42, no. 4, 2004, pp. 338–345., doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2004.00536.x.)</ref>

== Diet ==
The diet of adults consists largely of mollusks, such as ''[Mutela](/source/Mutela)'' ''bourguignati.''<ref name = fishbase /> They also eat small fish and insects at times; the diet of juveniles consists almost entirely of insects.<ref name = fishbase />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q257796}}

marbled lungfish
Category:Fauna of East Africa
marbled lungfish

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Marbled lungfish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbled_lungfish) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbled_lungfish?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.