Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Butt breathing
Turtles can breathe through their butts.They can suck water into their cloaca, the single hole through which they pass feces, urine and sexual fluids, and into two pockets that come off the chamber. These pockets are lined with veins, and the turtles can absorb oxygen from the water into their blood. The Fitzroy River turtle from Australia seems to be the champion of butt breathing. It can pump water in and out of its butt up to 60 times a minute, and gets almost 70 per cent of its oxygen in this way.
Truth is stranger than fiction eh? Hmm, what about tortoise?
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