Species
The two genera have 12 extant species:
Order Polypteriformes
- Family Polypteridae
- Genus Erpetoichthys
- Erpetoichthys calabaricus (reedfish)
- Genus Polypterus
- Retropinnis group
- Polypterus retropinnis (West African bichir)
- Bichir group
- Polypterus ansorgii (Guinean bichir)
- Polypterus bichir (Nile bichir)
- P. b. bichir
- P. b. lapradei
- Polypterus congicus (Congo bichir)
- Polypterus endlicheri (saddled bichir)
- Weeksii group
- Polypterus mokelembembe (Mokèlé-mbèmbé bichir)
- Polypterus ornatipinnis (ornate bichir)
- Polypterus weeksii (mottled bichir)
- Senegalus group
- Polypterus delhezi (barred bichir)
- Polypterus palmas (shortfin bichir)
- P. p. buettikoferi
- P. p. palmas
- P. p. polli
- Polypterus senegalus (gray bichir)
- P. s. meridionalis (most likely avariant of P. s. senegalus)
- P. s. senegalus
- Polypterus teugelsi (Cross River bichir)
- Retropinnis group
- Genus Erpetoichthys
Fossil species include:
- Bawitius bartheli - Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Egypt
- Polypterus faraou — late Miocene
Read more about this topic: Bichir
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