The biology of the australian lungfish,Neoceratodus forsteri (krefft 1870)

Kemp, Anne

doi:10.1002/jmor.1051900413

Cited by 107 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…A possible explanation for this is that the pMC is a reflection of habitat and trophic position of the lungfish. The Australian lungfish is not an obligate aerobe, only using its well-developed air-breathing lungs during times of exertion or when water quality is particularly low (Kemp 1986). This also enables foraging within the muddy substrate for food sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mobilized sand and silt in the water column could result in increased consumption, and therefore overprinting, of sedimentary or dietary carbon. The lungfish diet changes as it develops, beginning with worms or small crustacea found in riverine sediments, supplemented with filamentous algae (Kemp 1986). Adults are also known to ingest aquatic macrophytes for the animal food attached, the macrophytes themselves remaining largely undigested.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remnant populations are found in the Burnett and Mary River systems, South East Queensland (Illidge 1894;Wager 1993), with populations introduced into surrounding systems when the species was thought to be under threat of extinction (O'Connor 1897). The single Australian species, Neoceratodus forsteri, has a rich fossil history that extends to the Cretaceous (Kemp 1986) and is part of a lineage found as far back as the Devonian (Marshall and Schultze 1992). The Australian lungfish (Dipnoi) falls within the class Sarcopterygii, whose subclasses also include the coelacanths (Coelacanthimorpha), the tetrapods and their extinct relatives (Tetrapodomorpha).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Potential for Radiocarbon Dating the Scales of Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus Forsteri)

et al. 2010

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ABSTRACT. We present a novel application for radiocarbon dating by aging 4 scales from a single large adult lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri) from the Burnett River, in Queensland, Australia. The relict fish species lack a solid crystalline otolith, which precludes the use of the otolith annuli as a reliable age indicator. Previous attempts to age lungfish using a number of techniques have had only limited success. We report on ages obtained from the dense lamellar bone of the scale, which were isolated from the organic layers that thicken and subsequently obscure the 14 C signal. Using the characteristics of the bomb curve, 2 parameter von Bertanalffy growth functions were fit, providing an estimate of absolute age to be ~65-70 yr. The information gleaned from this study will aid in assessing the population structure, and therefore management, of this vulnerable species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Potential for Radiocarbon Dating the Scales of Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus Forsteri)

et al. 2010

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“…Because over half of the photoreceptors are large rods (with a diameter of over 18 µm; Bailes et al 2006; Figs 2D,3C,D), the eyes of lungfishes are also adapted for enhancing sensitivity. Although the large cone diameters (approximately 15 µm in diameter; Bailes et al 2006) are most probably a biproduct of the reduction in quantal flux in response to the filtering capacity of the colored inclusions, the large rods are ensuring sufficiently high sensitivity to operate in the reportedly low light levels of its crepuscular and/or nocturnal lifestyle (Kemp 1986).…”

Section: Early Mechanisms For Enhancing Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early evolution of vertebrate photoreception: lessons from lampreys and lungfishes

Collin¹

2009

Integrative Zoology

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Lampreys (Agnatha) and lungfish (Dipnoi) are representatives of the earliest and the intermediate stages in vertebrate evolution, respectively, and survived in the Cambrian (approximately 540 mA, lampreys) and Devonian (approximately 400 mA, lungfishes) Periods. The unique phylogenetic position of these two groups presents us with an exciting opportunity to understand life in ancient times and to begin to trace the evolution of vision and photoreception in vertebrates. Using a multidisciplinary approach employing anatomical and molecular techniques, the evolution of photoreception is explored in these extant, living fossils to predict the environmental lighting conditions to which our vertebrate ancestors were exposed. Contrary to expectations, the retinae of the southern hemisphere lamprey (Geotria australis Gray, 1851) and the Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri Krefft, 1870) are far from "primitive," each possessing five types of photoreceptors, many with spectral filters for tuning the light. Detailed ultrastructural analysis reveals that all five receptor types in G. australis are cone-like, whereas N. forsteri possesses four cone types and a single type of rod. Each receptor type also contains a different visual pigment (opsin gene); that is, LWS, SWS1, SWS2, RhA and RhB in G. australis and LWS, SWS1, SWS2, Rh1 and Rh2 in N. forsteri, all of which are expressed within the retina and are sensitive to different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, providing the potential for pentachromatic and tetrachromatic color vision, respectively.

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“…UVS cones are only found in the retinas of juvenile N. forsteri, suggesting that sensitivity to ultraviolet light is lost during maturation (Bailes et al, 2006;Hart et al, 2008). The possession of four types of cones in juvenile lungfishes implies that they have the potential for tetrachromatic vision, which is perhaps unusual for an animal that has previously been considered predominantly nocturnal or crepuscular (Dean, 1906(Dean, , 1912Grigg, 1965;Kemp, 1986). To date, the retinae of the South American and spotted African lungfishes have only been superficially characterized by using light microscopy and both species are thought to possess one type of rod and at least two types of cone, suggesting that these species may also have the capacity for color vision.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphology, Characterization and Distribution of Retinal Photoreceptors in the South American (Lepidosiren paradoxa) and Spotted African (Protopterus dolloi) Lungfishes

et al. 2016

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Lungfishes are the closest living relatives of the ancestors to all terrestrial vertebrates and have remained relatively unchanged since the early Lochkovin period (410 mya). Lungfishes, therefore, represent a critical stage in vertebrate evolution and their sensory neurobiology is of considerable interest. This study examines the ultrastructure of the retina of two species of lungfishes: the South American lungfish, Lepidosiren paradoxa and the spotted African lungfish, Protopterus dolloi in an attempt to assess variations in photoreception in these two ancient groups of sarcopterygian (lobe-finned) fishes. In juvenile P. dolloi, the retina contains one rod and two cone photoreceptor types (one containing a red oil droplet), while only one rod and one cone photoreceptor type is present in adult L. paradoxa. Both species lack double cones. The large size and inclusion of oil droplets in both species apart from one of the cone photoreceptor types in P. dolloi suggests that L. paradoxa and P. dolloi are adapted for increasing sensitivity. However, the complement of photoreceptor types suggests that there may be a major difference in the capacity to discriminate color (dichromatic and monochromatic photoreception in P. dolloi and L. paradoxa, respectively). This study suggests that the visual needs of these two species may differ.

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The biology of the australian lungfish,Neoceratodus forsteri (krefft 1870)

Cited by 107 publications

References 14 publications

Assessing the Potential for Radiocarbon Dating the Scales of Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus Forsteri)

Assessing the Potential for Radiocarbon Dating the Scales of Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus Forsteri)

Early evolution of vertebrate photoreception: lessons from lampreys and lungfishes

Morphology, Characterization and Distribution of Retinal Photoreceptors in the South American (Lepidosiren paradoxa) and Spotted African (Protopterus dolloi) Lungfishes

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