12 Animals That Breathe Through Gills

The Animals breathing through the gills Are those that have specialized organs called gills or gills that allow them to perform the respiratory process in the aqueous environment in which they inhabit.

These animals include fish, some Reptiles In the early stages of their lives, most mollusks, crustaceans (although some have tracheal breathing) and some annelids and zoophytes.

Fish are one of the animals that breathe through the gills.

Gills vary in structure from animal to animal. They range from simple filamentous epithelial structures to complex structures comprising hundreds of lamellae enclosed in a cavity or branchial chamber.

They have multiple blood vessels and are continuously permeated by water flows which makes possible the gas exchange between water and blood. You may also be interested in viewing How animals breathe underwater .

12 examples of animals breathing through the gills

1- Frog

12 Animals That Breathe Through Gills

Like other amphibians, the frog exhibits gill respiration in the early stages of its life cycle.

Gills allow you to breathe in the water during your period as a larva and tadpole. When they reach adulthood, the gills disappear, then have a Cutaneous respiration And pulmonary.

2- Octopus

The octopus is a cephalopod mollusk that has branchial respiration. The octopus has three hearts. Two of the hearts are housed near the base of the gills and they are responsible for directing the blood to the gills where the gas exchange takes place.

Carbon dioxide is released and oxygen is obtained. The third heart is responsible for pumping oxygen-rich blood to all tissues of the animal.

3- Clam

The clam presents two pairs of gills, which are very delicate structures formed by ciliated sheets that allow the gas exchange in an efficient way.

A particular feature in these animals is that the gills also perform functions of osmotic regulation, excretion and digestion.

4- Shark

12 Animals That Breathe Through Gills 1

The respiratory apparatus of the shark is made up of gills or gills of cartilaginous tissue from which gill filaments are detached. These open and close to allow the passage of water and perform gas exchange.

5- Manta Ray

Manta rays as well as sharks have a cartilaginous gill structure. This is located in the lower part of the body, near the base of its dorsal fins.

6- Calliostoma annulatum

This sea snail characteristic by the beauty of its shell inhabits in the algae forests of the reefs. The gill is located in the cavity of the mantle in front of the heart.

7- Sea Hare

12 Animals That Breathe Through Gills 2

It is a mollusk that can measure up to 20 cm. His body is elongated and muscular and from it folds come off completely bordering it.

The young specimens are carmine red and as they age they become brownish green with small spots. The gills are on the right side of the head.

8- Tent

Carp is a freshwater fish native to Asia, but is currently scattered throughout most of the world. Like other fish your breath is gill.

9- Scalar fish

It is a freshwater fish with a flat body and triangular shape. It is characteristic for the size of its dorsal and anal fins that accentuate its triangular shape. As in the case of all fish their respiration is gill.

10- Australian Lungfish

12 Animals That Breathe Through Gills 3

It is a fish belonging to the group of lungfish. These are fish that have lungs in addition to their gills and that under certain environmental conditions can survive out of the water breathing the oxygen that is in the air.

The body of the Australian lungfish is elongated, its head is small and flattened and the tail termination is pointed.

11- Protoptero or African lungfish

This fish, like the Australian lung, has the capacity to survive long periods out of the water thanks to its double respiratory system: gill and pulmonary .

It is a fish of elongated and muscular body and with a small and pointed head. He survives the dry months by burying himself in the mud, where he remains enveloped in a layer of mucus that he secretes.

12- Lepidosirena

It is another fish belonging to the group of the lungs of South America. Of the group of the lungs is the fish that shows greater dependence of the aerial oxygen than of the aqueous one. Only 2% of your oxygen requirement is obtained through your gills.

In the drought stages, the lepidosirena digs into the mud a cave in which it is buried and which covers with a mud plug with holes that allow it to take oxygen from the surface. Its body is elongated and thick similar to that of eels.

Types of Gills

External Branches

These are simple and primitive structures that develop as hollow evaginations of the body wall. In echinoderms, this type of gills vary in appearance.

In some species such as starfish they appear as papilliform structures, whereas in sea urchins they are gills. In these animals, the gills function along with the tubular structures (tracheas) to perform the respiratory exchange gas function.

In annelids the respiratory process is usually performed through the skin. However, some additionally possess gills. In some polychaeans there are highly vascular gills attached to the notopodium.

In the areniculture, an excavating polychaete, and the ozobranchus, a leech, gills or gills are branching tufts arranged in a segmental fashion and in pairs along the body. The tentacles of the sabellids and snakes are also considered respiratory structures similar to the gills.

Among vertebrates, gills are present in the larvae of frogs (tadpoles) or as a neotenic feature of some adult salamanders (axolotl, Necturus). Some fish also have external gills during the larval stage (elasmobranchs, lung fish).

The larvae of the protoptero and the lepidosirena have four pairs of external gills in the early stage of their lives which are replaced by internal gills when the operculum develops.

Internal gills

Obviously, external gills have disadvantages. They can become obstacles during locomotion and are a source of attraction for predators.

For this reason, in most animals with gill respiration, the gills are located in partially closed chambers that provide protection to these delicate structures.

One of the main advantages of internal gills is that they allow the continuous flow of tap water to ventilate the gill chambers. In addition, this arrangement of gills allows the body of the animal to be more aerodynamic.

In bivalves, tunicates and some echinoderms, ciliary activity is responsible for water circulation through the branchial chamber. Animals receive their oxygen requirements as well as food supplies from the circulating water.

In crustaceans, several types of well-developed internal gill structures are observed. In these animals, the gills are made of vascularized lamellar structures.

In the case of gastropod molluscs, the gills are located within the cavity of the mantle which receives continuous streams of water.

How Gill Breathing Happens

Aquatic vertebrates have developed very efficient gill respiration. The gills are located in a chamber known as the opercular chamber. The oral cavity sucks water which is forced to go back through the gills to exit through the opercular cavity.

This flow of water over the epithelium Respiratory is continuous and the respiratory current is produced by muscular movements which pump the water. This happens thanks to a double pumping mechanism that operates simultaneously.

On the one hand, the buccal cavity functions as a pressure pump that forces the water through the gills while on the other the opercular suction pump moves the water through them.

The oral cavity and the opercular opening are protected by valves which remain static but which move according to the degree of pressure exerted on them.

In many aquatic animals, especially fish, an important feature is that the flow of water through the gills occurs in only one direction and blood flow in the opposite direction. This is called the countercurrent principle and ensures a constant degree of oxygen tension between the water and the blood.

References

  1. Richard, A. (1845) Elements of natural medical history: translated into Castilian, Vol 1-2. Madrid, ES: Imprint of the College of Sordo-Mutes and Blind.
  2. Rastogi, S. (2006). Essentials of Animal Physiology. New Delhi, IN: New Age International (P) Limited Publishers.
  3. Goyenechea, I. (2006). Bichos and Sabandijas. Notes about amphibians and reptiles.
  4. Hill, R., Wyse, G., and Anderson, M. (2004). Animal physiology. Madrid, ES: Editorial Panamericana S.A.
  5. Cargnin, E and Sarasquete, C. (2008). Histophysiology of marine bivalve molluscs. Madrid, ES: Higher Council of Scientific Research.
  6. Guisande, C. et al (2013). Sharks, Stripes, Chimeras, Lampreys and Mixinides from the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands. Madrid, ES: Ediciones DiazdeSantos.
  7. Ruiz, M (2007). The natural and cultural heritage of Rota (Cádiz) and its conservation. Cadiz, ES: Publications of the University of Cadiz.
  8. Graham, J. (1997). Air-Breathing Fishes: Evolution, Diversity, and Adaptation. San Diego, USA: Academic Press.
  9. Aparicio, G. and Lata, H. (2005). 100 Argentine Fish. Buenos Aires, AR: Albatros Editorial.

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