One of the three types of respiration that many animals have throughout the planet is the skin respiration. This occurs through the skin and occurs mainly in insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles such as turtles and sea snakes and in some mammals, the latter being the rarest case.
In this Green Ecologist article we will see what skin respiration is and 16 animals that breathe through skin. Did you know them? Do you know of other animals that have this type of respiration?
What is cutaneous or skin respiration
Is named skin respiration to a type of breathing that is done through the skin in certain groups of animals. In these animals, the skin is quite special, because to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to diffuse through it, it must always keep minimally humid. Another characteristic is that your skin is highly vascular in its inner layers to facilitate this process.
Cutaneous respiration is especially important in amphibians and softshell turtles, which have mucous glands that help them retain skin moisture. Some amphibians have folds in their skin that help them increase their respiratory rate. Amphibians are animals that have up to three forms of respiration, depending on their vital stage and level of activity. These are pulmonary respiration, respiration through a lining of the mouth (mostly in a state of rest) and skin respiration (it takes in 90% of the oxygen they need).
Most animals that use this type of respiration, they also have lungs or gills that give them an alternate surface to allow respiratory exchange and that complements breathing through the skin. In fact, only salamanders survive exclusively on skin respiration.
Some examples of skin-breathing animals are as follows.
Skin-breathing annelids
We started this list of animals with skin respiration speaking of annelids, which are invertebrate animals:
Earthworm
This animal can be found in tunnels in the ground, which it performs to feed. By doing this, organic matter enters your digestive system and is subsequently eliminated in the form of excrement. Through this process it softens, enriches and aerates the soil.
Since it lacks specialized respiratory organs, its respiration takes place through the skin.
Leech
This is an animal with an elongated body and with suction cups at both ends. Leeches feed on the blood they suck from their prey. They breathe through the skin, although there are species that have gills, which are similar to lateral branches on their body. In other families, there is a red pigment called hemoglobin and it carries up to half of the absorbed oxygen.
Korean or nereis earthworm
It is a marine worm with an elongated, semi-cylindrical body and ring-shaped segments. It has four eyes and strong jaws to capture its prey. As it lacks specialized respiratory organs, it breathes through its body surface, mainly through thin, flat appendages that are located on the sides of its body.
Amphibians with skin respiration
These are some examples of amphibian animals that breathe through skin:
Axolotl
It is an animal very similar to the salamander and is an endemic species of the region of the valley of Mexico, although some species can be found in North America. It has the appearance of a lizard, with a smooth, glandular and moist skin of different colors. They can breathe through the lungs, gills or the skin, depending on their vital stage.
In this other article you can learn more about these animals and we will tell you why the axolotl is in danger of extinction.
Frogs
They are anuran amphibians that undergo metamorphosis from birth to adulthood. Their type of breathing varies according to their vital stage and time of year. Thus, in their aquatic tadpole stage, their respiration is through gills and through the skin, while in adults they use lung and skin respiration according to the time of year. For example, in winter they use the skin more (they require less oxygen) and in summer they use the lung mainly (they require more oxygen).
Toads
Toads are also anuran amphibians. They are distinguished from frogs by size, leg length, skin roughness, and way of moving. They present the same types of respiration as frogs, being cutaneous in their larval and tadpole stages, and mainly pulmonary in adults (their skin is less moist).
Newts
These animals are amphibians of the salamander family, although smaller, with a long, thin body, short legs, and a long, flattened tail. They spend most of their life in water and their respiration is mostly skin.
Cecilias
It is a tailless or very rudimentary worm-shaped amphibian. Some have rudimentary lungs, although their respiration is mainly cutaneous, other species lack lungs.
Get to know this group of animals better with this other Green Ecologist article on What animals are amphibians and where they are found.
Examples of skin-breathing animals: echinoderms
Between the echinoderms with skin respiration we have:
Sea urchin
It is a globe-shaped echinoderm without limbs. There are movable spikes around their entire body that allow them to move and serve as a method of defense. Their respiration is cutaneous, although they also present gill respiration.
Sea cucumber
It is an elongated, soft-bodied echinoderm without limbs. Its size ranges from a few millimeters to several meters. Some species have tubes near their anus that allow them to breathe, although their respiration is mainly cutaneous.
As you can see in this article about 20 rare marine animals in danger of extinction, unfortunately, this species is about to disappear.
Ofiura
It is an echinoderm similar to starfish, with a rounded and flattened central structure from which its long and thin arms start, which serve to move around. It has respiratory organs, although its respiration is mainly cutaneous.
Reptiles and mammals with skin respiration
Even if the reptiles they do not have mainly cutaneous respiration, some species can use it in certain conditions. Some of them are:
- Sea snake.
- Musky turtle.
- Green lizard.
- Japanese tortoise.
In the mammals this also happens. Some can deliver a small percentage of oxygen through the skin. It is the case of brown bat, which obtains around 15% of the oxygen by this method and removes 5% of the carbon dioxide.
If you want to read more articles similar to 16 animals that breathe through skin, we recommend that you enter our category of Animal Curiosities.
