What do you think of this fact?
Turtles have lungs, so sooner or later they have to come up for air. One species in Australia found a workaround that will make you grin.
A rear end that works like gills
The Fitzroy River turtle, scientific name Rheodytes leukops, lives in the Fitzroy River system in the Australian state of Queensland. In Australia it has a nickname that leaves little to the imagination: the “bum-breathing turtle”.
The reason is its cloaca. That is the single opening under the tail used for both waste and reproduction. According to the conservation group Greening Australia, it contains gill-like structures. The turtle pumps water in and out and takes up oxygen as it does. That way, according to Greening Australia, it can stay underwater for up to 21 days at a time.
Not the only one, but the champion
It isn’t completely alone. According to Live Science, only about a dozen turtle species are really good at this so-called cloacal respiration, roughly half of them in Australia. Wildlife physiologist Craig Franklin of the University of Queensland told the site that the Fitzroy River turtle can cover all of its energy needs this way. In theory, that would let it stay underwater indefinitely.
According to Live Science, young river turtles are generally even better at it than adults. That helps them stay away from the dangerous surface, where predators are waiting.
Bonus fact: According to Greening Australia, newly hatched Fitzroy River turtles are barely bigger than a 20 cent coin.
A superpower with problems
As brilliant as its breathing is, the species has trouble on land. According to Greening Australia, it is listed as vulnerable because, without protection, introduced foxes, cats and pigs eat or destroy almost all of the eggs. A nest holds 16 to 20 eggs. In the 2016 season, researchers protected 196 nests, and more than 3,000 hatchlings made it safely into the water.
Some animals brag about their teeth or claws. This turtle keeps its superpower in the back.