How do turtles breathe under water?

How do turtles breathe under water?

• Answer:

  Turtles breathe air using their lungs, but are able to go for long periods of time under water without surfacing to breathe. They even go without surfacing for months at a time during the winter.Breathing with LungsTurtles do not have gills like fish. All turtles have lungs that they use to breathe for most of the year. When hibernating under water during the winter months. however, turtles obtain oxygen from the water through their skin.Breathing Through SkinTurtles can obtain oxygen from the water through some parts of their skin, such as the lining of their mouth and throat. However, most turtles are not able to gain significant amounts of oxygen through this method and use this as their primary means of breathing only during hibernation.HibernationLike many animals, turtles hibernate during the winter months. This time is usually spent at the bottom of lakes, sometimes burrowed in mud. During this time, their metabolism drops drastically, allowing them to survive on very little oxygen.Unusual BreathingTurtles have a cloaca, which is a posterior opening, through which feces, urine and eggs travel. In some water turtles, the cloaca contains bursae, which are covered in a thin membrane through which gas exchange is possible. This provides a minor oxygen contribution in most such turtles, with the exception being Australia's Fitzroy River turtle which obtains as much as two-thirds of its oxygen by this method.Fun FactThe largest living turtle is a 6-foot long leatherback sea turtle, weighing 1,300 pounds.Source:http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Wildlife_Reports/Wildlife_Reports_2003/wildlife_report_022803.htmhttp://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/400-499/nb485.htmhttp://www.tortoise.org/general/wildfaqs.html#buttsMore Information:http://www.unc.edu/~dtkirkpa/stuff/tanks.html