Biology Asked on January 23, 2021
Among aquatic, water-breathing animals, gills and other continuous-flow breathing methods dominate over lungs and other storage-based breathing methods as in land animals. Notably, axolotls have gill-like structures around their heads which use a high surface-area structure heavily vascularized with capillaries to breathe water.
However, it seems all air-breathing organisms use storage-based breathing, air-breathing fish included, as lungfish use their swim bladders as lungs, a clear example of storage-based breathing.
Are there any land organisms that use continuous-flow breathing methods over lungs?
Terrestrial crustaceans are land animals that use gills (or gill-like structures) for gas exchange, though these gills must be kept moist for efficient respiration.
Specifically, animals like hermit crabs have a branchiostegal lung that looks like gill tissue but is better adapted for absorption of oxygen from air instead of water.
Answered by acvill on January 23, 2021
Some terrestrial hermit crabs (genus Coenobita) have gills, but these are only partially responsible for their respiration1. These animals carry around water with them in the snail shell they 'wear'.
Amphibious land snails in the genus Pomatiopsis have gills2.
Finally, a terrestrial amphipod known as a "sand hopper" Talitrus saltator also has gills3.
Answered by tyersome on January 23, 2021
Modern reptiles (including birds, but possibly excluding turtles) have a continuous flow system of lungs. In birds, the lungs have air pushed over their lungs by larg air-sacs, similarly to how water is pumped over gills by the mouth in fish
Answered by Ichthys King on January 23, 2021
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