NEWS 110
30
hey are in fact albinos of one of the
most ancient fish species on our
planet, a so-called living fossil, namely the
Senegal Bichir,
Polypterus senegalus
. Fossil
finds of this species have been discovered
that purportedly date from 60 million
years ago, a time when the dinosaurs still
ruled the Earth!
Inventors of gene technology
The dinosaurs are long gone, but the
bichirs remain.Their existence
- at present 13 species are recognized - is a
mystery. Why have they survived for so
long, even though entire classes of animals
have disappeared from our planet within
much shorter time frames? And how have
they adapted to the repeated dramatic
T
For some time now there have been strange, snow-white to ivory-colored, cigar-shaped fishes with ruby-red eyes
in the trade. So what are they?
A ghost fish ?!
by Wolfgang Löll
Albino Senegal Bichirs are bred commercially as aquarium fishes in Asia.
All photos: Frank Schäfer
changes in environmental conditions? The
last question at least has been answered
by DNA studies - through hybridization!
Their genes clearly indicate that various
species of bichir have repeatedly crossed
with one another. In fact the hybrids that
result from such crosses are unable to
breed together (at least there is no
indication that anything of the sort takes
place in the wild),but they are able to mate
with the parent species. In domestic
animals this is termed back-crossing. The
result is that new genetic material is
introduced into the population, apparently
fitting it for the battle for survival. So it
seems that gene technology isn't a human
invention, some fishes have been
practicing it for millions of years.
Oddballs
