Lizards use bubbles to breathe

A new study has found that water anoles have a special technique for breathing underwater, which they can use as a last resort to escape from predators. Water anoles are small lizards—about the size of a pencil—that live near streams and waterfalls in South and Central America. When they spot a bird or snake, they usually stay very still to try to avoid being eaten. As an alternative, sometimes the lizards will dash into a nearby crack in a rock to hide. If those strategies fail, a water anole will dive into a stream. As it does, it breathes out to form a bubble of air over its nostrils. Tiny bubbles also form on its skin and combine with the bigger nostril bubble. The anole can then breathe the bubble…

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The Week Junior US (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 238

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