Many fish have survived to our times, the distant ancestors of which still remember dinosaurs. Perhaps, one of the most interesting ancient fish is the breathless, able to sleep underground.

Breathing species

From the name it is easy to guess that these fish differ from the rest by an altered respiratory system. These underwater creatures, in addition to the gills, also have lungs, therefore they are able to breathe air, being outside the water.

Millions of years ago, breathless were distributed on the planet and numbered dozens of species, but only three families survived to our time:

• protopter lives in shallow water of the Nile, in Africa, and is divided into four subspecies;
• flake lives in the waters of South America;
• you can find the horned tooth in Australia.

All species of bipedal animals prefer a warm climate, because of which they settle in waters that dry out almost completely with the onset of heat. At this moment, the fish and begin to fully use the skills to breathe air and dig into the ground for sleep.

Why do the breathless hibernate?

Despite the fact that these fish breathe well outside the water, they are not able to move on land. And when with the onset of hot days the ponds almost completely dry up, most of the fish remains to lie on the wet sand. But in contrast to them, for doubly breathing the drying of the reservoir is not a problem.

With the onset of drought, the protopter and flake find a place with soft soil and burrow into it, creating a kind of nest.A rodent cannot make a nest. Underground, the fish hibernate and can lie still for a couple of months. During this period, the body works in an inactive mode, because of which it does not need food. Thanks to the lungs, the creature breathes through its nose, receiving air through a small hole in the nest.

When the drought ends and the rainy season sets in, the ponds replenish. Once under water, the fish crawls out of the nest and returns to its former way of life.

Interesting fact: local fishermen know about this feature of fish and on hot days go fishing, taking with them not fishing rods, but shovels.

Lonely-breathing fish sleep in the ground. They live in hot climates, where water bodies periodically dry up. At this time, they burrow into the ground and hibernate, waiting for the onset of the rainy season.