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When underwater, the animal is essentially holding its breath and has to routinely return to the surface to breathe in new air. Therefore, all amniote animals, even those that spend more time in water than out, are susceptible to drowning if they cannot reach the surface to breath.
Aquatic animals generally conduct gas exchange in water by extracting dissolved oxygen via specialised respiratory organs called gills, through the skin or across enteral mucosae, although some are evolved from terrestrial ancestors that re-adapted to aquatic environments (e.g. marine reptiles and marine mammals), in which case they actually ...
A sea slug, Pleurobranchaea meckelii: The gill (or ctenidium) is visible in this view of the right-hand side of the animal. Crustaceans, molluscs, and some aquatic insects have tufted gills or plate-like structures on the surfaces of their bodies. Gills of various types and designs, simple or more elaborate, have evolved independently in the ...
Diving reflex in a human baby. The diving reflex, also known as the diving response and mammalian diving reflex, is a set of physiological responses to immersion that overrides the basic homeostatic reflexes, and is found in all air-breathing vertebrates studied to date.
The physiology of underwater diving is the physiological adaptations to diving of air-breathing vertebrates that have returned to the ocean from terrestrial lineages. They are a diverse group that include sea snakes , sea turtles , the marine iguana , saltwater crocodiles , penguins , pinnipeds , cetaceans , sea otters , manatees and dugongs .
A semiaquatic lizard called a diving anole produces a special bubble atop its head to breathe underwater and avoid predators on land, according to research.
Fish gills are organs that allow fish to breathe underwater. Most fish exchange gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide using gills that are protected under gill covers (operculum) on both sides of the pharynx (throat). Gills are tissues that are like short threads, protein structures called filaments. These filaments have many functions including ...
When this internal oxygen supply is depleted, the animal suffers an increasing urge to breathe caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide in the circulation, followed by loss of consciousness due to central nervous system hypoxia. If this occurs underwater, it will drown. Breath-hold diving depth is limited in animals when the volume of rigid walled ...