Are there any fish in India with both gills and lungs?

In one line

The rule

Some fish have both gills (for breathing in water) and lungs (for breathing air), allowing them to survive in water and on land for some time.

Let's understand it simply

Imagine a fish in a pond. Usually, fish use gills to take in oxygen from water. But some special fish can also use a kind of lung to breathe air, just like you do. This helps them survive if the water dries up or has very little oxygen, like in a small pond during summer.

How it works

1. The fish lives in water and uses gills to breathe, like normal fish.
2. When water has less oxygen, or if the fish is out of water, it comes up to the surface.
3. It gulps air into a special part inside its body (a lung-like organ).
4. This organ takes oxygen from the air, just like your lungs do.
5. The fish can survive for hours or even days outside water, as long as it stays moist.

The story behind it

Scientists found that some fish in India, like the Lungfish and Climbing Perch, can breathe both ways. This helps them live in places where ponds dry up or water gets dirty. The climbing perch is famous for moving from one pond to another, even crawling on land!

Where you see it in real life

• Climbing Perch (Anabas): Found in ponds and rice fields in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala. It uses both gills and a lung-like organ.
• Lungfish (Lepidosiren): Not common in India, but a similar fish called the "Swamp Eel" (Monopterus) uses a lung-like organ.
• Walking Catfish (Clarias batrachus): Found in Indian rivers and ponds. It can breathe air and move on wet ground.
• Fish markets in Kolkata: Sometimes you see climbing perch alive even outside water, waiting to be sold.
• Monsoon season: Some fish survive in muddy, low-oxygen water because they can breathe air.

Why it matters

• These fish can survive when ponds dry up or water gets polluted.
• Farmers in India keep climbing perch in rice fields because they do not die easily.
• Scientists study these fish to learn how animals adapt to tough conditions.
• It helps us understand how breathing organs evolved from water to land animals.

Common mistakes

• Thinking all fish can only breathe in water — some can breathe air too.
• Mixing up lungs and swim bladders (a swim bladder helps fish float, not breathe air).
• Believing these fish can live forever out of water — they still need to stay wet.

Remember it

Some Indian fish, like the climbing perch, have both gills and a lung-like organ, so they can breathe in water and air.