Nile perch to the region, lungfish typically comprised a small proportion of a fisherman's catch. Transportation to market from catching sites in Lake Victoria was often done with fish sun-dried for better preservation. Human consumption of the lungfish varies by population; the Luo peoples occasionally do so but the Sukuma avoid eating lungfish due to a taste which is "locally either highly appreciated or strongly disliked." As technology advancements such as longlines and gillnets have been increasingly applied over the past 50 years, the lungfish populations there are believed to be decreasing. Species and subspecies The family Protopteridae and genus Protopterus contain four extant (living) species: Protopterus aethiopicus Heckel, 1851 — marbled lungfish P. a. aethiopicus Heckel, 1851 P. a. congicus Poll, 1961 P. a. mesmaekersi Poll, 1961 Protopterus amphibius (W. K. H. Peters, 1844) — gilled African lungfish or East African lungfish Protopterus annectens (Owen, 1839) — West African lungfish P. a. annectens (Owen, 1839) P. a. brieni Poll, 1961 — southern lungfish Protopterus dolloi Boulenger, 1900 — slender lungfish or spotted African lungfish Other extinct species are known from fossil remains: †Protopterus crassidens Churcher & de Iuliis 2001 †Protopterus elongus Martin 1995 †Protopterus libycus Stromer 1910 †Protopterus nigeriensis Martin 1997 †Protopterus polli Dartevelle & Casier 1949 †Protopterus protopteroides Tabaste 1962 †Protopterus regulatus Schall 1984 References Purves, Sadava, Orians, Heller, "Life: The Science of Biology" 7th ed. pg. 943. Courier Companies Inc: USA, 2004. Lobe-finned fish genera Taxa named by Richard Owen Freshwater fish genera