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View Full Version : Are there any saltwater fish that can breathe air?


Betta132
10/27/2014, 11:18 PM
Just like the title says. Doing research for an essay.
I know there are gouramis, bettas, catfish, lungfish, etc that can breathe air, but most of the ones I'm aware of are freshwater. I know mudskippers can breathe air very well, but they're only brackish, not full salt.

davidfrances
10/28/2014, 05:44 AM
Tarpon. From wikipedia:

One of the unique features of Megalops is the swim bladder, which functions as a respiratory pseudo-organ. These gas structures can be used for buoyancy, as an accessory respiratory organ, or both. In Megalops, this unpaired air-holding structure arises dorsally from the posterior pharynx. Megalops uses the swim bladder as a respiratory organ and the respiratory surface is coated with blood capillaries with a thin epithelium over the top. This is the basis of the alveolar tissue found in the swim bladder, and is believed to be one of the primary methods by which Megalops “breathes”. These fish are obligate air breathers, and if they are not allowed to access the surface, they will die. The exchange of gas occurs at the surface through a rolling motion that is commonly associated with Megalops sightings. This “breathing” is believed to be mediated by visual cues, and the frequency of breathing is inversely correlated to the dissolved O2 content of the water in which they live.