DipNovel Chapter 90 The Amazing Lungfish
Chapter 90 The Amazing Lungfish
Chapter Ninety: The Amazing Lungfish
Although the water wasn't very clean, it tasted very good to Chu Ye.
After drinking some water, Chu Ye no longer felt thirsty. He then walked around in the large puddle.
There's not much to see in this big puddle; only the small one in the middle has some water. The rest is just dry, cracked mud.
Chu Ye first looked at the cracked mud, and he had a bad feeling. Just over ten days ago, this large puddle still had a lot of water. Now, there wasn't much water left in it.
This waterhole has always been a regular place for animals living in the vicinity to drink. All the large animals in the area come to this waterhole to drink.
Chu Ye and his pride of lions have been drinking from this waterhole for the past few days. However, the water in the waterhole is now about to evaporate completely under the scorching sun.
"Our pride of lions is about to run out of water. Should we migrate to another place?"
When Chu Ye saw that the water in the large puddle was about to evaporate completely, he sensed that his pride of lions was about to migrate to another place to live.
Just as Chu Ye was thinking this, he felt some movement in the puddle, and some water splashed on the surface.
"Hey! What's that? Are they some fish?"
Chu Ye sensed that some animal was swimming in the puddle, so he curiously walked over.
When Chu Ye came to the edge of the puddle again, he saw that there were some small fish swimming in the puddle.
Perhaps sensing that the water in the puddle was about to evaporate under the scorching sun, the little fish in the puddle became very panicked and began to swim around in all directions.
Looking at the little fish in the water, Chu Ye felt a pang of sympathy. He felt relatively lucky; at least he was a lion. Even if the water in this puddle evaporated under the scorching sun, the fish could still find other places to live.
But the little fish in this puddle probably don't have that ability. They can only watch helplessly as the water in the puddle decreases.
"Alas! Poor little fish! I hope you won't be born as fish in your next life, but as lions, so that you can live elsewhere when there's no water, just like me."
Looking at the little fish in front of him, Chu Ye felt a pang of sympathy.
But to Chu Ye's surprise, just as he was thinking this, he saw a small fish slowly crawl ashore and then dive back into the dry, cracked mud on the bank.
Chu Ye was very surprised when he saw this.
"Hey! How could this be? How did these little fish manage to climb ashore and burrow into the mud? Are some of them loaches?!"
Chu Ye initially thought these small fish were loaches. But after looking at them more closely, he realized they weren't loaches at all.
"What kind of fish are these? Why are they burrowing into the mud?" Chu Ye looked at the small fish in the puddle with curiosity.
He saw that at first only one small fish crawled ashore and burrowed into the cracked mud. Soon, the other small fish, just like the first one, crawled ashore and burrowed into the mud on the bank.
"These fish are really strange. What kind of fish are they?" Chu Ye suddenly wanted to figure out what kind of fish they were and why they would burrow into the mud.
"Hey! Before, when I saw an animal, I could generate information about it in my brain immediately! I should be able to do that again this time!"
Chu Ye recalled how, when he saw certain animals before, information about those animals would unconsciously come to mind.
"Let me think about it some more. I should be able to figure out what kind of fish this is, and I should know some information about them."
Thinking of this, Chu Ye looked closely at the fish in front of him, hoping to generate some information about this kind of small fish in his mind.
Strangely enough, as Chu Ye did this, he actually felt some information about this small fish quickly forming in his mind.
This little fish is actually the famous African lungfish, a truly amazing little fish.
African lungfish live in freshwater and breathe not only through gills but also through their swim bladders. Even during the dry season, they burrow into the mud to estivate for several months, though this period is limited in time. The reason lungfish can live outside the water, as their name suggests, is that they can breathe using their "lungs."
Their swim bladders are well-developed. The front part of the entire swim bladder is merged into a single chamber, which is very short in length, and then separates into pairs, reaching the posterior end of the body cavity. The side walls of the central cavity inside the swim bladder form many small air chambers (alveoli) of varying sizes, and each small air chamber is further divided into many small air sacs (alveoli), with a structure very similar to that of the lungs of terrestrial animals.
Because its swim bladder has the physiological function of lungs, it is filled with a network of branching blood vessels and spiral valves, and has a short swim bladder tube that communicates with the esophagus. It can absorb oxygen and expel carbon dioxide when there is a lack of oxygen.
Interestingly, African lungfish also have the ability to bury themselves deep in the mud during the dry season, building a very sturdy "mud burrow" with the surrounding soil. They have a small breathing hole in front of their mouths and lie quietly inside to abstain from summer, spending the dry season for up to 6 months. When the rainy season arrives, they emerge from the burrow.
Lungfish are a special type of fish that can breathe through gills while in water, but they also have a special swim bladder that allows them to breathe air directly out of the water. During the dry season in Africa, lungfish burrow into wet mud, creating small burrows to curl up in.
To prevent drying out, they secrete a special mucus from their skin to coat their entire body, forming a waterproof layer with only a small opening for breathing. They live on their own muscles and fat as nutrients and reduce their metabolic rate to one-sixtieth of its original level, which is less than 2% of the normal rate.
Lungfish share many traits with extant amphibians in terms of soft tissue structure, development, physiology, and behavior, but differ from other extant fish. African lungfish can remain out of the water for 3 to 5 years without eating or drinking, and can be reborn when the river returns.
The research has revealed that this is a form of dormancy at the cellular level. Scientists are using this as a breakthrough, hoping that humans can also experience dormancy in the future, thereby enabling ultra-long-distance space travel or buying time for medical emergencies.
African lungfish can go without food or water and sleep for three to five years, waking up when the river water returns. Researchers say that during this process, their biological clock is slowed down, and they enter a dormant state, where they neither eat, drink, nor excrete, sometimes for up to five years.
Researchers claim that during this process, their biological clocks are slowed down, they stop eating, and they consume very little energy.
After learning about the small fish, Chu Ye no longer dared to look down on it. He also felt there was no need to pity it; instead, he felt he should pity himself. He was far inferior to the lungfish.
"Wow, so this is the amazing African lungfish! Their survival skills are truly incredible! Compared to them, the lions aren't even as capable as an African lungfish. Lungfish can burrow into the mud for five or six months without eating or drinking, waiting for the rainy season before emerging. But we lions have to endure hunger during the dry season and wander to other places to live."
Looking at the little fish in front of him, Chu Ye suddenly felt that he was not even as good as a fish.
"Damn, if I could be reborn in my next life, I'd definitely be an African lungfish. Being a fish is so great! A free and easy life. Even during the dry season, I can burrow into the mud, take a nap, and then the rainy season is here again. That kind of life is just too easy!"
Just moments ago, Chu Ye was feeling sorry for the lungfish, but in the blink of an eye, he was starting to envy its superb survival skills.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if the lions could have a good meal, then find a place to sleep for months, and then wake up when the rainy season comes?"
Looking at the small fish in front of him, Chu Ye began to let his mind wander.
But Chu Ye also knew that he was a huge lion, and he could not survive the dry season by simply burrowing into the mud and sleeping like a lungfish.
"Forget it, let's go back! I don't need to envy those lungfish anymore; I'd better return to the lion pride!"
Chu Ye felt there wasn't much to see in this place. Looking at these lungfish only fueled his growing envy and resentment.
So Chu Ye started walking back, wanting to return to the lion pride.
But after walking a while, he saw a small hill appear ahead. In the flat Serengeti southern plains, a relatively high place would look very abrupt.
"What's that? I'll go take a look." Chu Ye saw the small mound in front of him and felt something was off, so he went over to it.
The small mound was only a little over a hundred meters away from Chu Ye. Chu Ye quickly arrived at the small mound.
Upon arriving at the small mound, Chu Ye noticed some small holes on its surface, which appeared to lead underground.
Hey! Isn't that an anthill in Africa?
When Chu Ye saw the small mound, he knew it was an African termite nest.
African termites are fascinating little creatures found in Africa. They play a vital role in the food chain of the African savanna.
Don't let their tiny size fool you. African termites are incredibly powerful predators, and they also feed on many African animals. It's not just small animals and birds that prey on termites; even some large animals do.
Both aardvarks and hyenas, two large animals, feed on small ants called African termites.
Looking at the tower-like mound in front of him, Chu Ye immediately knew that this was the home of African termites. Information about African termites quickly flooded his mind.
Termites, also known as insect ants, are insects that exist in the natural environment and are capable of efficiently degrading lignocellulose. They belong to the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, subclass Pterygota, superorder Dictamnidopoda, and are a type of hemimetabolous, holosocial insect.
Termites are distributed across two-thirds of the Earth's land area, with the majority concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions. Of all continents, only Antarctica has not yet shown any signs of termite activity. Tropical and subtropical regions account for 50-60% of the net primary productivity of terrestrial ecosystems.
Termite colonies contain individuals of various castes, each with its own specific role and working collaboratively. Termite castes include reproductive termites, soldier termites, worker termites, and nymphs. Reproductive termites are further divided into primitive reproductive termites and supplementary reproductive termites.
Primitive reproductive ants are long-winged reproductive ants that swarm from the mother nest. They then pair up, shed their wings, and establish a colony. When the original queen or king ant in the nest grows old or dies, supplementary reproductive ants will replace the queen and king ants to reproduce and maintain the stability of the colony.
Termite colonies typically have only one pair of primitive king and queen. However, some species may have multiple kings and queens. Once the primitive king and queen become weak or die, short-winged or wingless replacement kings and queens will quickly emerge in the colony to continue the colony's reproduction and expand its population.
For example, a mature queen termite in a subterranean termite colony can lay about 8000 to 10000 eggs per day during its peak reproductive period, and lay more than 5 million eggs in her lifetime. A mature colony of this type of termite can have millions of individuals and continue its life cycle for decades. The growth of its population can be described as geometric progression.
Termites are master builders in the animal kingdom, constructing iconic mounds that can reach heights of over 10 feet (about 3 meters). The mound in the photo reaches 16 feet (about 4.8 meters). These "skyscrapers" are built using chewed twigs, soil, and excrement, creating a remarkably comfortable interior. The mounds are exceptionally well-ventilated, almost like having air conditioning, and also collect condensation. Some termite mounds even house "fungus farms."
Termites can survive in extremely dry wood. They have three pairs of rectal glands that absorb moisture from their feces. With a slow metabolism and poor reproductive capacity, termites cannot compete with gnat termites and macrotermites, and therefore do not easily survive in favorable environments, forcing them to live in dry, hard wood. Termites are sometimes called "ferry termites," and by the time a large infestation is discovered, the furniture is already damaged.
Termites have a wide range of diets. Their nutrients come from plants, with plant cellulose and its products as their main food. They also eat fungi and lignin, and occasionally starch, sugars and proteins.
However, people often see termites eating man-made fibers, plastics, wires, cables, and even bricks, stones, and metals. They use chemicals such as formic acid to corrode and melt these objects.