North American giant lungfish (SciiFii)

The North American giant lungfish (Neoceratodus americanum), also known as the North American barramunda, is a species of lungfish that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the wetlands, lakes, rivers, and ponds across North America to help boost biodiversity. The closest living relatives of the North American giant lungfish are the Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri) and the African giant lungfish (Neoceratodus tuberculatus). North American giant lungfish are dull brown on the back, sides, tail, and fins, and pale orange on the underside. They have been described as having a reddish colouring on their sides which gets much brighter in the males during the breeding season. This colouration is the only distinguishing sexual characteristic of the lungfish. They have stout elongated bodies and flattened heads with small eyes. The mouth is small and in a subterminal position. The North American giant lungfish can grow to a length of about 150 centimeters (4.9 feet), and a weight of 43 kilograms (95 lb). It is commonly found to be about 100 centimeters (3.3 feet) and 20 kilograms (44 lb) on average. Both sexes follow similar growth patterns, although the females grow to a slightly larger size. They are covered in slime when taken from the water. A distinctive characteristic of the North American giant lungfish is the presence of a single dorsal lung, used to supplement the oxygen supply through the gills. During times of excessive activity, drought, or high temperatures (when water becomes deoxygenated), or when prevailing conditions inhibit normal functioning of the gills, the North American giant lungfish can rise to the surface and swallow air into its lung. More frequent air breathing is correlated with periods of greater activity at night when it uses the lung as a supplementary organ of respiration. The North American giant lungfish can live for several days out of the water, if it is kept moist, but will not survive total water depletion, unlike its non-Neoceratodus counterparts. The North American giant lungfish in the wild is primarily nocturnal, and is essentially carnivorous. In captivity, it will feed on frogs, small domesticated fish (including goldfish), earthworms, pieces of meat, and pelleted food. In the wild, its prey includes frogs, tadpoles, fishes, a variety of invertebrates, and plant material. North American giant lungfish larvae are bottom feeders. They eat micro-crustaceans and small Tubifex worms, occasionally supplementing their diets with filamentous algae. Soft foods such as worms and plants are partially crushed with a few quick bites and then swallowed. In the adult North American giant lungfish, movement of the prey in and out of the mouth is accompanied by strong adduction of the jaws. This crushing mechanism is coupled with hydraulic transport of the food, achieved by movements of the hyoid apparatus, to position the prey within the oral cavity. The North American giant lungfish exhibits one of the most primitive version of these biomechanical feeding adaptations and behaviors among the lungfish. The North American giant lungfish spawns and completes its entire lifecycle in freshwater systems. The age of first breeding is estimated to be 17 years for males and 22 years for females. Males typically become mature at 738–790 mm (29.1–31.1 inches) and females at 814–854 mm (32.0–33.6 inches). After an elaborate courtship, the lungfish spawn in pairs, depositing large adhesive eggs amongst aquatic plants. They spawn from November until February, before the spring, in flowing streams that are at least a metre deep. Eggs are most abundant during December and January. The stimulus for spawning is day length. The lungfish is known to spawn both during the day and at night. The lungfish is selective in its choice of spawning sites. Eggs have been recorded on aquatic plants rooted in gravel and sand, slow- and fast-moving waters, in shade and in full sun, but never on aquatic plants covered with slimy algae, in stagnant water, or where loose debris was on the water's surface. Contrary to its South American and African relatives, along with its smaller North American relative, the North American giant lungfish does not make a nest or guard or care for its eggs. When spawning does take place, the pair of fish will lie on their sides or become entwined. They usually deposit their eggs singly, occasionally in pairs, but very rarely in clusters. The male lungfish fertilizes each egg as it emerges, and the eggs are deposited in dense aquatic vegetation. The newly laid egg is hemispherical, delicate, heavily yolked, and enclosed in a single vitelline and triple jelly envelope. The egg about 3 mm (0.12 inches) in diameter; with the jelly envelope, it has a total diameter of about 1 cm (0.39 inches). The egg is sticky for a short while until silt and small aquatic organisms have covered it, but long enough for it to become attached to submerged vegetation. Unlike its Australian or African relatives, it is not too negatively buoyant and the eggs that fall to the lake or river bed are just as likely to survive to hatching as the ones attatched to floating vegetation. The conservation status of the North American giant lungfish is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the North American giant lungfish's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.