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Cutaneous Respiration
Cutaneous respiration, or cutaneous gas exchange (sometimes called skin breathing), is a form of respiration in which gas exchange occurs across the skin or outer integument of an organism rather than gills or lungs. Cutaneous respiration may be the sole method of gas exchange, or may accompany other forms, such as ventilation. Cutaneous respiration occurs in a wide variety of organisms, including insects, amphibians, fish, sea snakes, turtles, and to a lesser extent in mammals. Physical constraints Gas exchange in cutaneous respiration is controlled by three factors: *Ventilation: the rate of delivery of respiratory medium (water or air) to the respiratory surface *Diffusion: the passage of gases through the skin *Convection: the carrying of dissolved gases towards or away from the lungs Taxonomic diversity in chordates Fish Cutaneous respiration occurs in a variety of marine, intertidal, and freshwater fish. For aquatic respiration, fish respire primarily via gills but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Respiration (physiology)
In physiology, respiration is the transport of oxygen from the outside environment to the Cell (biology), cells within Tissue (biology), tissues, and the removal of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction to the environment by a respiratory system. The physiological definition of respiration differs from the Cellular respiration, biochemical definition, which refers to a metabolic process by which an organism obtains energy (in the form of ATP and NADPH) by oxidizing nutrients and releasing waste products. Although physiologic respiration is necessary to sustain cellular respiration and thus life in animals, the processes are distinct: cellular respiration takes place in individual cells of the organism, while physiologic respiration concerns the Diffusion#Diffusion vs. bulk flow diffusion, diffusion and transport of metabolites between the organism and the external environment. Exchange of gases in the lung occurs by ventilation and perfusion. Ventilation refers to the in-and-ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aquatic Respiration
Aquatic respiration is the Biological process, process whereby an aquatic animal, aquatic organism exchanges Respiration (physiology), respiratory gases with water, obtaining oxygen from oxygen dissolved in water and excretion, excreting carbon dioxide and some other metabolic waste products into the water. Unicellular and simple small organisms In very small animals, plants and bacteria, simple diffusion of gaseous metabolites is sufficient for respiratory function and no special adaptations are found to aid respiration. Passive diffusion or active transport are also sufficient mechanisms for many larger aquatic animals such as many worms, jellyfish, sponges, bryozoans and similar organisms. In such cases, no specific respiratory organs or organelles are found. Higher plants Although higher plants typically use carbon dioxide and excrete oxygen during photosynthesis, they also respire and, particularly during darkness, many plants excrete carbon dioxide and require oxygen to ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enteral Respiration
Enteral respiration, also referred to as cloacal respiration or intestinal respiration, is a form of respiration in which gas exchange occurs across the epithelia of the enteral system, usually in the caudal cavity (cloaca). This is used in various species as an alternative respiration mechanism in hypoxic environments as a means to supplement blood oxygen. Turtles Some turtles, especially those specialized in diving, are highly reliant on cloacal respiration during dives. They accomplish this by having a pair of accessory air bladders connected to the cloaca which can absorb oxygen from the water. Sea cucumbers Sea cucumbers use cloacal respiration via a pair of "respiratory trees" that branch in the cloaca just inside the anus, so that they "breathe" by drawing water in through the anus, extracting dissolved oxygen from water, and then expelling it. The "trees" consist of a series of narrow tubules branching from a common duct, and lie on either side of the digestive tract. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julia Creek Dunnart
The Julia Creek dunnart (''Sminthopsis douglasi'') is a marsupial with a buffy brown upperside and white underside. This dunnart has a body length of 100–135 mm with a tail of 60–105 mm to make a total length of 160–240 mm. Its weight is between 40 and 70 g. The length of the hind foot is 22–24 mm. The species has a dark brown triangle colour from above and below the eye with the point at the nose, and another dark stripe on top of the skull. A healthy dunnart has a carrot-shaped tail filled with fat stores. Distribution and habitat Julia Creek dunnarts are typically found on 8000 km2 in the Mitchel Grass downs of riparian grasslands, between Julia Creek and Richmond in Queensland, it possibly occurs in the Mitchell Plateau of Western Australia. The prickly acacia is a threat to its habitat as it kills native grasslands. Cultivation and introduced species also threaten this dasyurid's habitat. Social organization and breeding During th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endotherms
An endotherm (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔνδον ''endon'' "within" and θέρμη ''thermē'' "heat") is an organism that maintains its body at a metabolically favorable temperature, largely by the use of heat released by its internal bodily functions instead of relying almost purely on ambient heat. Such internally generated heat is mainly an incidental product of the animal's routine metabolism, but under conditions of excessive cold or low activity an endotherm might apply special mechanisms adapted specifically to heat production. Examples include special-function muscular exertion such as shivering, and Uncoupler, uncoupled oxidative metabolism, such as within brown adipose tissue. Only birds and mammals are considered truly endothermic groups of animals. However, Argentine black and white tegu, leatherback sea turtle, leatherback sea turtles, Fish#Endothermy, lamnid sharks, tuna and billfishes, cicadas, and Operophtera brumata, winter moths are Mesotherm, mesothermic. Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloaca
A cloaca ( ), : cloacae ( or ), or vent, is the rear orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive (rectum), reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles, birds, cartilaginous fish and a few mammals ( monotremes, afrosoricids, and marsupial moles, etc.) have this orifice, from which they excrete both urine and feces; this is in contrast to most placental mammals, which have separate orifices for evacuation and reproduction. Excretory openings with analogous purpose in some invertebrates are also sometimes called cloacae. Mating through the cloaca is called cloacal copulation and cloacal kissing. The cloacal region is also often associated with a secretory organ, the cloacal gland, which has been implicated in the scent-marking behavior of some reptiles, marsupials, amphibians, and monotremes. Etymology The word is from the Latin verb ''cluo'', "(I) cleanse", thus the noun ''cloaca'', " sewer, drain" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enteral Respiration
Enteral respiration, also referred to as cloacal respiration or intestinal respiration, is a form of respiration in which gas exchange occurs across the epithelia of the enteral system, usually in the caudal cavity (cloaca). This is used in various species as an alternative respiration mechanism in hypoxic environments as a means to supplement blood oxygen. Turtles Some turtles, especially those specialized in diving, are highly reliant on cloacal respiration during dives. They accomplish this by having a pair of accessory air bladders connected to the cloaca which can absorb oxygen from the water. Sea cucumbers Sea cucumbers use cloacal respiration via a pair of "respiratory trees" that branch in the cloaca just inside the anus, so that they "breathe" by drawing water in through the anus, extracting dissolved oxygen from water, and then expelling it. The "trees" consist of a series of narrow tubules branching from a common duct, and lie on either side of the digestive tract. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptile Scale
Reptile skin is covered with scutes or Scale (anatomy), scales which, along with many other characteristics, distinguish reptiles from animals of other classes. They are made of Alpha-keratin, alpha and beta-keratin and are formed from the epidermis (contrary to fish, in which the scales are formed from the dermis). The scales may be ossified or tubercular, as in the case of lizards, or modified elaborately, as in the case of snakes.Malcolm Arthur Smith, Smith, Malcolm A. (1931). ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma. Vol. I.—Loricata, Testudines.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxviii + 185 pp. + Plates I-II. ("Skin", p. 30). The scales on the top of lizard and snake heads has also been called ''pileus'', after the Latin word for cap, referring to the fact that these scales sit on the skull like a cap. Lizard scales Lizard scales vary in form from tubercle, tubercular to platelike, or imbricate (overlapping). These sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellbender
The hellbender (''Cryptobranchus alleganiensis''), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States. It is the largest salamander in North America. A member of the family Cryptobranchidae, the hellbender is the only extant member of the genus ''Cryptobranchus''. Other closely related salamanders in the same family are in the genus '' Andrias'', which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders. The hellbender is much larger than any other salamander in its geographic range, and employs an unusual adaption for respiration through cutaneous gas exchange via capillaries found in its lateral skin folds. It fills a particular niche—both as a predator and prey—in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to the impacts of disease and widespread habitat lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lungless Salamander
Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. With over 500 species, lungless salamanders are by far the largest family of salamanders in terms of their diversity. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil. Only two extant genera occur in the Eastern Hemisphere: '' Speleomantes'' (native to Sardinia and mainland Europe south of the Alps) and '' Karsenia'' (native to South Korea). Biology Adult lungless salamanders have four limbs, with four toes on the fore limbs, and usually with five on the hind limbs. Within many species, mating and reproduction occur solely on land. Accordingly, many species also lack an aquatic larval stage, a phenomenon known as direct development in which the offspring hatch as fully-formed, miniature adults. Direct development is correlated with changes in the developmental characteristics of plethodontids compared to other families of salamanders including increases in egg size and durati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibian
Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excluding the amniotes (tetrapods with an amniotic membrane, such as modern reptiles, birds and mammals). All extant taxon, extant (living) amphibians belong to the monophyletic subclass (biology), subclass Lissamphibia, with three living order (biology), orders: Anura (frogs and toads), Urodela (salamanders), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Evolved to be mostly semiaquatic, amphibians have adapted to inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living in freshwater ecosystem, freshwater, wetland or terrestrial ecosystems (such as riparian woodland, fossorial and even arboreal habitats). Their biological life cycle, life cycle typically starts out as aquatic animal, aquatic larvae with gills known as tadpoles, but some species have devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telmatobius Culeus
''Telmatobius culeus'', commonly known as the Titicaca water frog or Lake Titicaca frog, is a medium-large to very large and endangered species of frog in the family Telmatobiidae. It is entirely Aquatic animal, aquatic and found only in the Lake Titicaca basin, including rivers that flow into it and smaller connected lakes like Lake Arapa, Arapa, Lake Lagunillas, Lagunillas and Lake Saracocha, Saracocha, in the Andean highlands of Bolivia and Peru. In reference to its excessive amounts of skin, it is sometimes jokingly referred to as the Titicaca scrotum frog. It is closely related to the more widespread and semiaquatic marbled water frog (''T. marmoratus''), which also occurs in shallow, coastal parts of Lake Titicaca, but lacks the excessive skin and it is generally smaller (although overlapping in size with some forms of the Titicaca water frog). Appearance Size In the late 1960s, an expedition led by Jacques Cousteau reported Titicaca water frogs up to in outstretched lengt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
