• Question: Why do turtles breathe in water AND in land?

    Asked by MarineBiologyFan to Max, Lizzie, Francis on 7 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Francis Man

      Francis Man answered on 7 Mar 2018:

      Well I’m not a specialist of turtles, but they definitely need oxygen, whether they are in water or on land.
      From what I’ve read (thanks to you, I learned something!), they can breathe on land using their lungs, and they have a very efficient way of storing oxygen for long periods of time while they are underwater. Some species of turtle are apparently able to filter oxygen from water (a bit like fish do).

      Now, why do they have several ways of getting oxygen? That has to do with evolution, and the short answer is “because it works well for them”.

    • Photo: Lizzie Wright

      Lizzie Wright answered on 10 Mar 2018:

      I had no idea! Thanks Francis!

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