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Bichirs are a family of atmospheric air breathing fish which date back to the Cretaceous period. When juvenile and bitesize, they possess fluffy external gills which allow them to collect oxygen from the water, so they don't have to surface for air and risk being preyed on. As they get bigger, they will shrink until gone. I hope this video brings to light some information you may not of knew about. If you weren't aware, in 2010 there were some big changes to Bichir literature (of which online factfiles haven't discovered yet). Many of these changes have been published in open access journals and others closed access which can be requested by emailing the researchers. Here is one of the open studies. EDIT: The Polypterus senegalus senegalus (Turkana) specimen has since been redescribed and is now also P. senegalus meridionales. YouTube Video references Polypterus delhezi Polypterus palmas buettikoferi Polypterus ornatipinnis Polypterus retropinnis Polypterus teugelsi Polypterus mokelembembe Polypterus bichir bichir Polypterus ansorgii
