Marbled lungfish

Protopterus aethiopicus

Marbled across Nile and Congo basins

Tropical
Lower river
Upper river
Regional distribution
Freshwater fish
Africa
Elongated
Large
Tropical fish

The marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) is a lungfish of the family Protopteridae. Also known as the leopard lungfish, it is found in Eastern and Central Africa, as well as the Nile region. At 133 billion base pairs, it has the largest known genome of any animal and one of the largest of any organism, along with the flowering plant Paris japonica, the fern Tmesipteris oblanceolata and the protist Polychaos dubium at 150 billion, 160 billion and 670 billion, respectively.

Class: Lungfishes
Order: Lungfishes
Family: Protopteridae
Genus: Protopterus
Maximum length: 200 cm
Water: Freshwater
Body shape: elongated
Distribution: Africa: subspecies Protopterus aethiopicus aethiopicus distributed in Nile basin and lakes Albert, Edward, Victoria, Nabugabo, Tanganyika, Kyoga and No (Ref. 3498 ), also in Lake Turkana (Ref. 52331 ). Subspecies P. a. congicus distributed in Congo basin, from Upper Lualaba to Kinshasa (Ref. 3498 ). Subspecies P. a. mesmaekersi distributed in Lower Congo River basin (Ref. 3498 ).
Conservation status: LCLeast Concern

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