Electric Eels

Comments

• Xanthrax@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Oh, it’s because they live in a low oxygen environment. They can breathe through their skin, and gills.

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  • Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    So, not obligate then???

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    • RedAggroBest@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      No, they’re definitely obligated. Their gills are tiny and not enough for gas exchange. They need to breathe air via buccal pumping. What they mean by breathing through their skin is they release CO2 from their skin like amphibians do.

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• Ranger@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  They’re not the only non-Tetrapod fish that are obligate air breathers.

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• Hikermick@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Gar have primitive lungs and will stick their head out of the water to breathe

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• MentallyExhausted@reddthat.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Weird. I found out about this today from Strands.

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• djsoren19@yiffit.net ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I’m confused by the premise. Don’t most fish require respiration? The phrase “obligate air-breather” conjures the image of an eel surfacing in order to gasp down a few lungfulls of air, but aren’t they just using gills to pull oxygen from the water to do so?

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