Fish rely on their gills to breathe oxygen dissolved in the water, so they cannot live without water and will die quickly once they leave the water. Species with larger gill openings usually die faster than those with smaller gill openings. But there are a few fish that can live out of water for a long time, because in addition to their gills as their main respiratory organs, these fish also have accessory respiratory organs to assist in breathing, so they can leave the water without dying.
As we all know, fish such as climbing bass, fighting fish, snakehead, and bearded catfish can stay out of water for a long time without dying. In addition to their strong vitality, these fish mainly have two organs called epibranchial organs on the left and right sides of the gill chamber. The structure of the accessory respiratory organs and epibranchial organs varies from species to species. The epibranchial organ has a well-developed air breathing function. As long as the organ remains moist, it can absorb air from the air and maintain the life activities of the fish.
There is a group of cystobranchial fish in India. Its epibranchial organs turn into a pair of long tubular sacs, which pass from the gill openings back through the muscles near the spine to the tail. There are abundant blood vessels on the inner wall of the sacs, and the sacs are filled with air, so they can Live away from the water for a while.
The skin of eels, catfish, mudskippers, eels, loaches, etc. has a respiratory function. The skin of these fish is rich in blood vessels, and gas can penetrate the skin and enter the blood.
In addition to the eel's skin being able to breathe air, the epithelial cells on the inner wall of its oropharyngeal cavity are covered with blood vessels and can directly breathe air. The eel's gills have degraded and cannot complete water respiration independently. It can only survive by relying on this air-assisted respiratory structure. Therefore, eels always lift their heads out of the water to breathe.
In addition to the ability of the loach to breathe air through its skin, its intestines have a strong ability to breathe. The intestinal wall of the loach is very thin and densely covered with blood vessels. When there is insufficient dissolved oxygen in the water, it will surface and suck in air from its mouth. Gas exchange occurs in the tube, and waste gas is discharged from the anus. Normal intestinal respiration accounts for about 1/3 of the total oxygen intake. When the weather is hot, the atmospheric pressure is low, and there is a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water, loaches in the water will rise to the surface to inhale, one after another, so loaches are called "climate fish" in Europe.
animal tags：
you may also like
Anabarilius alburnops belongs to the order Cypriniformes, family Cyprinidae, subfamily Anabarilius, and genus Anabalius. Commonly known as: small white fish. English name: Silver minnow. Endangerment level: Endangered. The body is long and flat on the...
In my country's coastal high tide zone or brackish estuary tidal flats, there lives a small fish with a body length of only tens of millimeters. It has a large and square head; its eyes are protruding and can rotate; there is a muscle handle at the base of the pectoral fin, which can be used...
The double-hole fish is commonly known as moss fish, pipe fish, moss rat, algae-eating fish, and scavenger. The mouth of the amphipod is shaped like a sucker, so that it can be adsorbed on surfaces such as rocks and eat algae on the surface of the rocks. Raised as an orna...
Tanichthys albonubes belongs to the order Cypriniformes, family Cyprinidae, ("fish" on the left, "dan" on the right) subfamily, and the genus Tanichthys. Commonly known as: red tail fish, white cloud golden fish, white cloud mountain fish, and dun fish. English name: White cloud mountain minn...
Secondary defense behavior mainly manifests itself in 5 forms, including: 1. Retreat: Retreat is the most common and basic secondary defense behavior. The first reaction of any fish when encountering danger is to retreat. Some small fish swim into rock gaps and some into...
Onychostoma sima belongs to the order Cypriniformes, family Cyprinidae, subfamily Onychostoma sima, and genus Onychostoma sima. Commonly known as: Bai Jia, Claw Liuzi. The body is spindle-shaped, with flat sides, a raised back in front of the dorsal fin, a round abdomen,...
Leuciscus merzbacheri, also known as Junggar Leuciscus, belongs to the order Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae, Leuciscus subfamily, and Leuciscus genus. Common name: little white fish. English name: Zhuangarian ide. Endangerment level: Vulnerable. The body i...
Thread-footed perch is also known as hairy-footed perch, commonly known as big spaceship, Indian flying fish, big walnut, and three-star manlong fish. There are black spots in the center of the body, at the base of the tail fin and between the eyeballs of the Threadfoot B...
Email: jsset#163.com (change # to @) Please indicate your purpose of visit! Guangdong ICP No. 2022053326 XML| map| Chinese
