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lungfish - 5 dictionary results

lung⋅fish

  [luhng-fish]
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–noun, plural (especially collectively) -fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) -fish⋅es.
any of various slender, air-breathing fishes of the order (or subclass) Dipnoi, of rivers and lakes in Africa, South America, and Australia, having a lunglike air bladder as well as gills and growing to a length of 3 to 6 ft. (0.9 to 1.8 m).
Origin:
1880–85; lung + fish
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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lung·fish   (lŭng'fĭsh')   
n.   pl. lungfish or lung·fish·es
Any of several elongated freshwater fishes of the Amazon, western and central Africa, and Australia that have lunglike organs as well as gills and are able to breathe air, allowing certain species to survive periods of drought inside a mucus-lined cocoon in the mud.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lungfish

Lung"fish`\, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any fish belonging to the Dipnoi; -- so called because they have both lungs and gills.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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lungfish   (lŭng'fĭsh')  Pronunciation Key 


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Any of several tropical freshwater fish of the order or subclass Dipnoi that, in addition to having gills, have lunglike organs for breathing air. Lungfish have a long, narrow body, and certain species can survive periods of drought inside a mucus-lined cocoon in the mud. The lungfish and the coelacanths are the only living lobe-finned fishes.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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lungfish

any of six species (three species according to some authorities) of air-breathing fishes placed with a number of extinct forms in the subclass Dipnoi (order Dipnoi of some authorities). The Dipnoi first appeared in the Lower Devonian Period (about 370,000,000-395,000,000 years ago). The extant species occur in rivers and lakes in Africa, South America, and Australia. They are especially interesting because of their characteristic body forms, their generally large size, their erratic distribution over the tropical regions of the earth, and their peculiar mode of life.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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