South American lungfish

South American lungfish
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous to recent
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Class: Dipnoi
Order: Ceratodontiformes
Family: Lepidosirenidae
Bonaparte, 1841
Genus: Lepidosiren
Fitzinger, 1837
Species:
L. paradoxa
Binomial name
Lepidosiren paradoxa
Fitzinger, 1837
Synonyms

(Genus)

  • Amphibichthys Hogg 1841

(Species)

  • Amphibichthys paradoxus (Fitzinger 1837)
  • Lepidosiren articulata Ehlers 1894

The South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa), also known as the American mud-fish and scaly salamanderfish, is the single species of lungfish found in swamps and slow-moving waters of the Amazon, Paraguay, and lower Paraná River basins in South America. Notable as an obligate air-breather, it is the sole member of its family Lepidosirenidae, although some authors also place Protopterus in the family. In Brazil, it is known by the indigenous language Tupi name piramboia, which means "snake-fish" (Portuguese pronunciation: [piɾɐ̃ˈbɔjjɐ]), and synonyms pirarucu-bóia ([piɾɐɾuˈku ˈbɔjjɐ]), traíra-bóia ([tɾɐˈiɾɐ ˈbɔjjɐ]), and caramuru ([kɐɾɐmuˈɾu]).