The Manatee or Sea Cow
Farting
If you observe a manatee underwater, you will notice that they are able to ascend or descend without moving at all. How do these animals manage to control weightlessness so easily ? The answer lies in the many bubbles that escape from the back of their bodies. The manatees control their buoyancy by discontinuous cycles of farts. They can regulate the distribution of their intestinal gas, containing excess gas when they want to rise to the surface and releasing them when they want to sink. Manatees eat a ton of plants every day and they accumulate a lot of methane. This is why their diaphragms are located close to their lungs to accommodate all this volume of gas.
The Parrotfish
Creator of tropical beaches
The tropical beaches are made of parrot fish droppings. With his wide-eyed eyes and apparent teeth, this fish is clearly not the most beautiful of the submarine world. Yet this species is directly responsible for the formation of some of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world …, or rather, their droppings because the white sand is above all, made of parrot fish excrement. It’s horse’s teeth have a great utility for it: it allows it to crush the coral that taste particularly good. Once the nutrients are extracted, the residual waste passes through its digestive tract and ends up being expelled on the reef in the form of virgin white sand. A single parrot fish can produce 90 pounds of sand in a year. The next time you sink your feet into the sand of a beautiful Maldives beach or you watch your children build a sand castle, have a thoughtful feeling for these friendly fishes ..
The Fitzroy River Tortoise
Breathe through her anus
The Fitzroy Turtle is an Australian freshwater turtle that breathes in 2 different ways: by the lungs and by its anus. Although it has a mouth like other species of turtles, this species has evolved to master its breathing by the anus. Moving with its ass in the air, cloaca open to the surface of the water, the blood vessels absorb oxygen and redistribute it to the body. One can speak of it as an extra lung. A small number of turtles manage to recover small amounts of oxygen from the water via a process called cloacal respiration, but the Fitzroy River turtles have pushed this feature to a higher level. This turtle is able to stay under water for three weeks which is an extraordinary feat.
The Beetle
Attaches air bubbles to its anus
Do you know any scuba diving insects braving the dangerous submarine kingdom ? The beetles are among these brave creatures who leave on an expedition carrying with them their reserve of air. To achieve this feat, these insects take advantage of the natural properties of water, especially surface tension. This principle is used by beetles to trap air in bubbles in order to evolve underwater and reach new sources of food. These bubbles are grouped together and attached to the posterior of the insect which serves as a stabilizing jacket and air bottle. Once immersion is complete, the beetle releases the air bubble, which propels it to the surface.
Sea cucumber
A parasite lives in its anus
Sea cucumber is a more complex marine animal than it appears. First of all, it has the particularity of not having lungs. To breathe, it directly pumps sea water through its anus, filters the oxygen contained in the water and transfers it to its respiratory system. Another incredible fact is that some fishes use its anus as an access to a free hotel. Indeed, they come by entering by his hindquarters to settle comfortably inside. At the height of misfortune, some guests devour the internal organs of our poor cucumber. This torture is endless because the organs of the sea cucumber have the incredible ability to regenerate themselves.
