Recent research has unveiled a fascinating underwater strategy employed by certain lizard species, enhancing their ability to stay submerged for extended periods. A team of scientists has confirmed that these lizards engage in a unique process of blowing out and rebreathing air bubbles.
In 2015, field observations in Costa Rica highlighted the behavior of lizards known as Anolis aquaticus, which dived into streams and remained underwater when approached by humans. Video footage revealed that these lizards expelled sizable air bubbles that remained attached to their heads before inhaling them again.
Following an initial report in 2018, further studies in 2021 showcased that at least 18 species of Anolis lizards possess this bubble-rebreathing ability, allowing them to remain submerged for up to 18 minutes.
These remarkable lizards feature water-repellent skin that retains a thin layer of air while submerged, giving them a distinctive silvery appearance and enabling larger bubbles to adhere to their bodies.
In a recent experiment, researchers applied an emollient moisturizer to the heads of freshly caught lizards to disrupt their skin’s water-repelling properties temporarily. The results demonstrated that treated lizards could only produce tiny bubbles, whereas those treated with plain water could stay underwater 32 percent longer on average.
Scientists believe that by rebreathing the same air, lizards can extract more oxygen, with the thin layer of air on their skin potentially functioning like a scuba tank. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the larger bubbles could act as gills, facilitating the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the water, similar to mechanisms observed in various insects and plants.
Other species, such as the star-nosed mole and the water shrew, also blow and reabsorb bubbles while submerged, primarily for olfactory purposes while they explore underwater environments.
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