Nile Bichir Polypterus bichir

Bichirs are prehistoric fish which have specially-adapted swim bladders to enable them to breathe air and survive out of water for long periods. Their fossil relatives date back 200 million years. Looking and behaving like a fish-amphibian hybrid, the Nile Bichir is native to lakes, rivers, streams and swamps of not only the Nile Basin but also the Congo Basin and some of West Africa.

They have poor eyesight but a good sense of smell and are mainly nocturnal, hunting small fish, worms and other invertebrates at night in shallow water and on banks. One of the larger of the bichirs, the Nile Bichir can grow to 75cm long. It has lateral stripes on the front end and bars on the back end but markings fade with age.