NEWS 110
31
Half-grown wild-caught Senegal Bichir from Nigeria.
A full-grown wild-caught male measuring somewhat over 25 cm in length.
This elderly female has become almost black with age.
Survival specialists
In addition a part has undoubtedly been
played by the legendary "survival pack"
that Mother Nature has created for the
bichirs. Their construction is so designed
that it would appear impossible to improve
in any way. Thus these fishes breathe not
only via gills, but also with lungs. Their
bodies are enclosed in a chain-mail shirt of
rhomboid bony plates termed ganoid
scales, which make these fishes almost
invulnerable (at least compared with the
delicate scales of most other fishes). Bichirs
are exclusively carnivorous, and, because
they are poikilothermic and hence do not -
unlike us humans - have to use themajority
of the energy obtained from food in order
to maintain body temperature, they can
get by for a long time on little food. For
their own part, bichirs have little attraction
for predators. Their individual little dorsal
fins, the so-called finlets, are razor-sharp -
and well and truly scratch if swallowed!
Human medicine hasn't yet turned its
attention to the bichirs, but it seems very
likely that these survival specialists may
even offer means of overcoming cancer
and pathogenic viruses.
Little dragons
Bichirs are readily maintained in the
aquarium and make interesting objects of
study. But because they are predators, in
Europe they are maintained mainly by
specialists. By contrast they are very
popular in Asia.They are reminiscent of the
dragon, the mythical beast that brings
good luck. And South-East Asia is also the
source of the albino tank-breds of
Polypterus senegalus.
Albino creatures
exercise a great fascination for humans,not
only in Asia, but also here in the west. Just
