Polypterus ansorgii | 水產百科網

TheonlyvisibledifferencebetweenthetwospeciesisdatP.ansorgiilackstheracingstripesallovertebody.Manysourcesmentionamaximumlengthof28cm​, ...

“if I had discovered only this species in Egypt, it would compensate me for the pains usually involved in a long journey”. According to scientist Geoffry Saint Hilaire, who in 1798 took part in a scientific expedition organized by Napoleon to the mysterious and closed Egypt.

Sitting along the Nile, he discovered a meter-long primeval fish, which was already known to the Egyptians from the time of the Pharaohs. The locals called the fish something like Bee-sheer, which the French may have phonetically spelled Bichir in their own way. In 1902 the species was given the scientific name Polypterus bichir. The find was of great scientific significance.

Today’s primeval fish Polypteridae are the only survivors of the group Polypteriformes. Its origins go back to the late Cretaceous period, from 100-60 million years ago, known as the last phase in which dinosaurs flourished. Polypteriformes occurred in the area that now includes Africa and South Amer...