Watch: This 'Scuba-Diving' Lizard Can Stay Underwater for 16 Minutes – Geek

March 28, 2019 - Comment

The water anole (Anolis aquaticus) is able to breathe under water for long periods of time to escape from predators. It appears that the species may have formed an underwater respiration system consisting of a recycled air bubble that clings to the anole’s head. (Photo Credit: Lindsey Swierk) A lizard species found in Central America may



The water anole (Anolis aquaticus) is able to breathe under water for long periods of time to escape from predators. It appears that the species may have formed an underwater respiration system consisting of a recycled air bubble that clings to the anole’s head. (Photo Credit: Lindsey Swierk)

A lizard species found in Central America may have evolved “scuba-diving” qualities allowing it to stay underwater for 16 minutes, according to researchers.

Video captured by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York show that the water anole (Anolis aquaticus) is able to breathe under water for long periods of time to escape from predators.

[embedded content]

The video, the first time an anole has been documented breathing out and re-inhaling an air pocket under water, seems to show that the species may have formed an underwater respiration system consisting of a recycled air bubble that clings to the anole’s head.

“Diving under water and remaining there for a long time is an anti-predator strategy for water anoles,” said Lindsey Swierk, assistant research professor of biological sciences. “These lizards aren’t particularly speedy, and taking to the water is a very effective option. (Take it from a biologist who sometimes struggles to capture her study organism because they’re so good at diving.) It’s easy to ‘disappear’ to a predator’s eye once you hide under water for a few minutes. I think that any underwater breathing adaptations in water anoles would have arisen to extend the amount of time they can stay in their underwater refuge.”

Swierk first noticed the species when she was walking along the mountain streams in Costa Rica and observed the lizards dive under water and stay submerged for a long period of time. Further analysis of the lizards’ stomachs uncovered that they eat some insects that are mainly found under water, hinting that the species may dive under water for reasons other than just avoiding predators.

[embedded content]

“Finding evidence suggesting that water anoles ‘breathe’ under water was serendipitous, and not part of my original research plan,” said Swierk. “I was impressed and pretty confused about the length of the dive, which gave me an itch to take a closer look with an underwater camera in the next couple of years. That’s when I saw that the anoles appeared to be rebreathing a bubble of air that covered their heads.”

Swierk said she believes the lizard might be extracting oxygen from these bubbles.

“I think it’s possible that some additional air pockets are being trapped around the anole’s head and throat, and that the inhalation and exhalation of the air bubble allow for some trading of fresh air among these air pockets, allowing the anole to swap air in its current air bubble with ‘new’ air,” said Swierk. “It’s additionally possible that the air bubble plays a role in allowing an anole to get rid of carbon dioxide. I suspect that there might be morphological adaptations, namely the shape of the top of the anole’s head, which allows a large bubble of air to cling to it easily.”

Swierk’s said her team plans to conduct follow-up research on the “bubble-breathing” observation and the antipredator function of the air bubble breathing in the field: “If future investigation reveals that this rebreathing behavior is adaptive, then I would imagine that it is a trait that evolved over time to allow water anoles, and perhaps similar anole species, to thrive in their aquatic habitats.”

More on Geek.com:

Let’s block ads! (Why?)



Source link

Comments

Comments are disabled for this post.