Why lizards have bird breath: Iguanas evolved one-way lungs surprisingly like those of birds

Date:

November 17, 2014

Source:

University of Utah

Summary:

Biologists long assumed that one-way air flow was a special adaptation in birds driven by the intense energy demands of flight. But now scientists have shown that bird-like breathing also developed in green iguanas – reptiles not known for high-capacity aerobic fitness. The finding bolsters the case that unidirectional bird-like flow evolved long before the first birds.

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