It ’s not every day you see a " scuba - diving " lounge lizard . That is , unless you ’re herpetologist and researcher Lindsey Swierk .
To her knowledge , Swierk is the first ( and potentially only ) scientist to catch the tiny water anole ( Anolis aquaticus)displaying its unparalleled evolutionary strategy to avoid predator . Found in the streams of southerly Costa Rica , these midget Aqua-Lung frogman have created a “ scuba tank ” method – blowing a elephantine air bubble around their olfactory organ – to “ breathe ” underwater for a record 16 minute .
“ We really do n’t know too much about this phenomenon yet , which makes it so interesting . I suppose it ’s possible that some line pockets are being immobilize around the anole ’s fountainhead and pharynx , and that the breathing in and exhalation of the air bubble provide for some ' trading ' of fresh air among these air pockets , ” Lindsey Swierk , assistant inquiry professor at the State University of New York , Binghamton , tell IFLScience .
Swierk is not sure whether it is the first time an Anolis carolinensis has been trance on cinema doing this but order other animals use exchangeable proficiency to stay submerged , namely aquatic insects like the diving beetle .
“ Diving beetles will entrap air bubbles on their physical structure Earth’s surface using surface tension , and they can breathe the breeze within these bubble , ” she articulate . “ Spiders use bubblesto stay underwater too . And although mavin - nosed jetty do n’t utilise bubbles to respire underwater , they do labour bubbles of air in and out to smack underwater , which in my opinion is really awful . ”
Found only in Costa Rica and a small section of Panama , the water anole is a “ fascinating coinage ” whose seemingly hidden gift is rout in survival ; diving and stay underwater for a long clip is a strategy to avoid predatory animal .
“ These lizards are n’t particularly speedy , and take to the water system is a very effective choice , ” the biologist explicate , adding that it was a battle to catch the lizards because they are so good at dive . “ It ’s easygoing to ' disappear ' to a piranha ’s optic once you hide underwater for a few proceedings . I think that any underwater breathing adaptations in water anoles would have uprise to extend the amount of time they can stay in their subaquatic safety . ”
However , Swierk is straightaway to caution that her work is in its infancy , and she is just report on a “ cool observation ” . No study has been published on the topic , although a little born story notice will be issue in the March issue ofHerpetological Review . Nevertheless , she believes her oeuvre could eventually conduct to a good understanding of how evolution has led to multiple answer to the same trouble – how coinage stay subaqueous for longsighted periods of meter .
