The survivor from prehistoric times, the salmon-fleshed Queensland lungfish, may fall victim to agricultural destruction of its habitat

Grigg, Gordon C.

University of Queensland eSpace

REPRINTED FROM KOOLEWONG Vol. 4, No. 2 
 
The Lungfish-Creature from the Past  
by GORDON C. GRIGG 
 
The survivor from prehistoric times, the salmon-fleshed Queensland lungfish, may fall victim to 
agricultural destruction of its habitat. 
 
Along the more remote reaches of Queensland's Burnett River, particularly toward evening, it is easy to believe 
that prehistoric creatures exist in the still, dark pools. Yet despite the heavily primeval atmosphere of the 
river it has so far produced only one genuine survivor from prehistoric times-the Queensland lungfish, 
Neoceratodus  forsteri. 
 
 
 
Dissection of a lungfish (above) reveals the structure of its single lung. The lungfish also has a set of gills and 
can breathe air or water at will. 
Photo by Gordon C. Grigg. 
 
 
Fossil evidence suggests that this fish has remained essentially unaltered by any evolutionary processes 
for at least the last 150 million years. 
The lungfish is a member of an extraordinary group of fishes, the Dipnoi, which have lungs as well as 
gills, allowing them to breathe air as well as water. Of the once widespread Dipnoan fish, only three 
survive today: Neoceratodus in Queensland, Protopterus in Africa and Lepidosiren in South America. 
Neoceratodus appears to be more primitive than its overseas cousins. It is the closest surviving relative of 
the fish from which the first land vertebrates, the labyrinthodonts, arose about 325 million years ago. This 
makes it of particular interest to zoologists. 
The Queensland lungfish inhabits waterholes in rivers where the channel widens, deepens and flows 
more slowly. During the day it remains on the bottom and can sometimes be seen in the shade of 
overhanging trees. It is active mainly at night, when it moves into the shallows to feed on waterweed. 
The fish are quite large, up to about 12 metres long. The largest recorded specimen weighed in at 
nearly 48 kilograms. They are stout fish, dark brownish-grey above and yellow-orange below, and 
armoured by large, overlapping scales. The paired fins are leaf-like and control the direction of swimming; 
thrust comes from sinuous movements of the body and the large symmetrical 
tail. The mouth is small and the large crushing teeth are borne on the palate and lower jaw. The gill 
chamber is covered by a muscular flap, the operculum, which overlaps slightly the base of the front fin. 
In appearance the sexes are similar, although females tend to grow larger than males. The stomachs of 
both are packed with waterweeds and animal remains, but it is not certain whether lungfish digest the plant 
material or simply ingest it for the animal life it contains-insect larvae, small snails, shrimps, and so on. In 
captivity the fish can be fed on beef, liver and earthworms. They are reputed to feed on flowers of 
Eucalyptus and Callistemon, which drop onto the water, and the aborigines once supposedly speared lung-
fish after luring them with flowers. 
The lungfish came to the attention of the scientific world in a relatively quiet way at a time when mass 
media did not blast the news around the world. Nevertheless, it must have thrilled those associated with the 
story. The curator and secretary of the Australian Museum in the 1860s was Gerard Krefft, who told of the 
discovery in a letter to the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald of January 18, 1870. He noted the 
similarity of the unusual tooth plates to those of an extinct genus of Mesozoic fishes known as Ceratodus, 
and he called the fish Ceratodus forsteri after its collector, William Foster, agent general of New South 
Wales. Subsequently this name was changed to Neoceratodus forsteri to distinguish between the living and 
the fossil genera. 
The discovery created much interest among biologists all over the world. Specimens were sent to Dr. 
Albert Gunther at the British Museum. He dissected them and published a very full anatomical description. 
Interest centred on a number of anatomical features which indicated without doubt that this was a survivor 
of the order Dipnoi (lungfishes), which is related to the group of fish which gave rise to the Amphibia, the 
first terrestrial vertebrates. 
In the early years after 1870 various fantastic claims were made about lungfish behaviour. They were 
reported to climb out on logs to sun themselves, walk about on the banks at night and even, according to 
one gentleman, graze along the shore, gnawing bark from trees. Undoubtedly this all stemmed from the 
observation that the fish had lungs. 
Ideas that they are amphibious and can survive dry seasons by burrowing in the mud have been very 
persistent. Protopterus and Lepidosiren can burrow in the mud-but Neoceratodus cannot. Further, none of 
the living lungfish (and probably none of the extinct ones either) can (or could) walk on land. The fins are 
far too weak to support the body on land, and the fish dies from desiccation when removed from water for 
a few hours unless it is kept moist. 
The very name "lungfish" indicates the remarkable mode of respiration. The lung is a single vascular 
sac dorsal to the gut, with an air duct opening into the oesophagus through a muscular slit, the glottis. The 
gills, which are well developed, are sufficient to oxygenate the blood at low levels of oxygen demand, but 
when the fish are more active (at night, or when fighting floodwaters), or in deoxygenated water, the lung 
is used as an accessory respiratory organ. When the fish surfaces, the inrush of air into the lung often 
causes a grunting, bubbling sound. 
In Queensland the lungfish spawns between August and December. On August 10, 1964, at Bon Accord 
Crossing over Barambah Creek, a tributary of the Burnett, Norman Milward (now Lecturer in Zoology at 
James Cook University, Townsville) and I observed lungfish mating, an occurrence which had never 
previously been described. The two fish were a metre or more in length and were gambolling in clean 
shallow water between 4 1/2 and six metres away from the rock outcrop where we were standing. They 
were apparently unconcerned about our flashlights, and after some time playing follow-the-leader in and 
out of clumps of waterweed the leading fish began shedding eggs into the weeds, apparently being 
stimulated by the male as he nudged her along the flanks. The male then repeatedly dived through the 
weeds in this area, sometimes turning a little on his side, presumably shedding milt on the eggs. Next 
morning we collected fertilised eggs adhering to the weed in this locality. 
The eggs are very like those of frogs, about the size of a small pea, and adhere individually to the 
waterweeds. Larvae hatch in about two weeks and live on the bottom. Juvenile fish are very hard to find, 
so hard in fact that Dr. Thomas Bancroft from Eidsvold (famous for his research into filariasis) considered 
that lungfish were no longer reproducing successfully and were on the verge of extinction. It is, however, 
not uncommon for the juveniles of freshwater fish to be hard to collect, and the population of lungfish 
seems to be thriving. 
In the Mesozoic-120 to 180 million years ago-a genus of fossil Dipnoi known as Ceratodus was 
distributed extensively in India, Europe, North Africa, North America, parts of South America and 
Australia. A direct ancestor of Neoceratodus, and somewhat larger, it is known mainly from fossilised 
teeth. Its very wide distribution is in direct contrast to the current natural distribution in only two rivers, 
the Mary and Burnett, both fairly small waterways, several hundred miles north of Brisbane. 
Early this century, partly as a result of Dr. Bancroft's fears that they may become extinct, lungfish were 
introduced successfully to the Brisbane River, the Pine River and a few other places, and there are now 
lungfish in many reservoirs, lagoons and farm dams throughout Queensland. 
Lungfish have been protected by law for many years, and permits must be obtained for their collection 
for study or for export to zoos or museums. This conservation policy recognises the importance of 
maintaining a thriving population of these unique fish. 
Perhaps the greatest danger to their survival in their native habitat comes from agricultural 
development along the rivers. Trees have been felled and scrub cleared, opening up the rich alluvial plains 
to citrus orchards and farming, and also causing much erosion and infilling of deep holes which are 
favoured haunts of the lungfish. Furthermore, increasing use of irrigation on the farms reduces the amount 
of water in the rivers, so that in the dry season they become mere chains of waterholes. On many occasions 
in recent years local residents have had to go to the aid of lungfish, rescuing them in large numbers from 
areas being pumped dry and transporting them to more permanent waterholes. 
Fortunately the lungfish has been dispersed to other river systems where its future is more secure. It 
would be a great pity if a creature which has survived the ravages of eons of time were now to fall a victim 
to development. 
 
 
A Queensland lungfish demonstrates its species' favorite occupation: lounging on the bottom of a stream. Myths 
that the lungfish uses its paddle-like fins to walk on land are unfounded. 
Photo by Gordon C.  Grigg.  


The Lungfish: Creature from the Past

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The Lungfish: Creature from the Past

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