Among Australian fishes, the Australian Lungfish is generally regarded as the most unique and interesting, due to its strange features, restricted distribution and evolutionary lineage. It was first described in 1870, creating frenzied interest among the scientific community. Along with several African and South American lungfishes and the Coelacanth ââ¬â another lobe-finned fish later discovered in the Indian Ocean ââ¬â they are often purported to be surviving links in the evolutionary chain between fishes and amphibians. Similar species were once widespread, but are now only known from fossil deposits.
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