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AUSTRALIAN LUNG-FISH 



This jish is also known as the Burnett River Salmon 



BOOK IV. FISHES 



CHAPTER I 



LUNG-FISHES AND CHIMERAS 



BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A. US., F.Z.S. 



THOUGH amongst the lowest of the backboned animals, the Fishes are nevertheless 

 an exceedingly interesting group, distinguished from all others by the possession of 

 fins, which are divisible into two series, an unpaired, ranged along the middle 

 of the back and abdomen, and including the tail-fin ; and a paired series, representing the 

 fore and hind limbs of land animals. The body is either clothed with scales or naked, 

 and, being perfectly sustained by the water, needs no support from the fins, which serve as 

 balancing-organs. 



In the brilliancy and beauty of their coloration fishes display a variety that cannot be 

 excelled by any other animals. Furthermore, the coloration is often rendered still more 

 beautiful from the fact that it can undergo rapid changes of hue. Frequently this coloration 

 is of a protective character, causing the fish to harmonise with its surroundings, and so escape 

 the observation of its enemies. The colours of living fishes can only, for the most part, be 

 indicated in the present pages when a pattern exists by the formation of stripes or spots; 

 but the wonderful variations in the form of the body will probably prove a revelation to many. 



LUNG-FISHES 



The LUNG-FISHES are a peculiarly important group, inasmuch as they form a connecting- 

 link between the class Fishes and the land-dwelling Amphibians the class containing the 

 Frogs and Toads and their allies. They are accorded this position mainly because, like 

 Amphibians, they possess true lungs, which almost entirely replace the gills, the breathing- 

 organs of other fishes. 



One of the best known of the lung-fishes is the AUSTRALIAN BARRAMUXDI, or LUNG-FISH OF 

 QUEENSLAND the BURNETT or DAWSOX SALMON of the settlers. It lives among the weeds at 

 the bottom of muddy rivers, rising frequently to the surface to take in atmospheric air by the 

 lungs, the gills alone being insufficient for breathing purposes. The flesh, which is salmon- 

 coloured, is much esteemed as food. The adult fish is said to attain to a weight of 20 Ibs. 

 and a length of 6 feet. 



Other lung-fishes, eel-like in form, occur in the rivers of Africa and South America. The 



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