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This suborder of fish also use a labyrinth organ to breathe air. Some species from this group can move on land. Amphibious fish from this family are the climbing perches, African and Southeast Asian fish that are capable of moving from pool to pool over land by using their pectoral fins, caudal peduncle, and gill covers as a means of locomotion.
Fish from multiple groups can live out of the water for extended time periods. Air breathing fish can be divided into obligate air breathers and facultative air breathers. Obligate air breathers, such as the African lungfish , are obligated to breathe air periodically or they suffocate.
The operculum can be important in adjusting the pressure of water inside of the pharynx to allow proper ventilation of the gills, so bony fish do not have to rely on ram ventilation (and hence near constant motion) to breathe. Valves inside the mouth keep the water from escaping. [9]
In some fish, capillary blood flows in the opposite direction to the water, causing countercurrent exchange. The muscles on the sides of the pharynx push the oxygen-depleted water out the gill openings. In bony fish, the pumping of oxygen-poor water is aided by a bone that surrounds the gills called the operculum. [6]
Mudskippers are amphibious. When leaving the water and moving into a more dry environment on land, they are still able to breathe using water that is trapped inside their large gill chambers. They are also able to absorb oxygen from the lining of their mouth and throat, allowing them to stay out of water for long periods of time.
While other species of fish can breathe air using modified, vascularized gas bladders, [6] these bladders are usually simple sacs, devoid of complex internal structure. In contrast, the lungs of lungfish are subdivided into numerous smaller air sacs, maximizing the surface area available for gas exchange .
Native to south-east Asia, this fish has strong spines on its pectoral fins that enable its body to "walk" across dry land. It travels from waterhole to waterhole, where it seeks refuge and makes ...
Fish from multiple groups can live out of the water for extended time periods. Amphibious fish such as the mudskipper can live and move about on land for up to several days, or live in stagnant or otherwise oxygen depleted water. Many such fish can breathe air via a variety of mechanisms. The skin of anguillid eels may absorb oxygen directly.