Lungfish can survive in poorly aerated waters since they have lungs which make its possible for them to obtain oxygen directly from the air. The lungs are related to those in primitive amphibian animals. Today, there are six known Lungfish species in world, but they used to be much more common. Lungfish have been around since the Lower Devonian era and during earlier stages of the planets history there existed much more than six lungfish species. Those species that have survived have changed little since the Lower Devonian age. The Australian lungfish have for instance looked pretty much the same during the last 100 million years.

Today, you will find wild Lungfish in Africa, South America and Australia. The African and South American Lungfish species all belong to the family Lepidosirenidae, while the Australian Lungfish has its own family