21 ANIMALS THAT BREATHE THROUGH THE TRACHEA - BIOLOGY - 2024

The animals breathe through the trachea are those who perform their breathing process through a system of branching tubes called tracheae. Some of them are the dragonfly, the butterfly or the flea.

The tracheas run internally through the animal's body, carrying oxygen to all tissues. Tracheal respiration is typical of both aquatic and terrestrial arthropods.

The entrance to the tracheal tubes is called the blowhole or stigma. These are small pores that go through the integumentary tissue. The entry and exit of air through the trachea occurs thanks to the movements of the abdomen.

As mentioned above, arthropods are the animals that exhibit this particular type of respiration. Insects, arachnids, crustaceans and myriapods belong to this group.

List of animals that breathe through the trachea

1- The Dragonfly

It is an insect of simple or incomplete metamorphosis (hemimetaboli). That is, its transformation from larva to adult insect does not go through the pupal stage. In its adult form it is a winged insect with a very elongated abdomen, large eyes and short antennae.

2- The Butterfly

Complete metamorphosis insect (holometabolos). That is, it goes through a process of development of several phases: embryo, larva, pupa and adult. Many of the species are recognized by the variety of colors and designs of their wings as well as their size.

3- The Flea

It is an external parasitic insect devoid of wings. It feeds on the blood of its hosts and moves in jumps proportional to its size.

4- The Tick

This animal belongs to the mite family. They are external parasites that feed on blood.

5- The Scorpion

It is also known by the name of scorpion. Its elongated and curved tail that ends in a stinger provided with poison is one of its most particular characteristics.

6- The Tarantula

It is the common name given to several species of large spiders. Their bodies and legs are covered with hair. Some tarantulas may "shoot" hairs from their abdomen as a means of defense.

7- The Opilión

They are arachnids similar to spiders. They differ from them, in that their body does not present a division between the abdomen and the prosoma, they do not weave webs and they only have two eyes (spiders have 8).

8- The Lobster

It is a marine crustacean. Its body is rigid and is divided into three parts. It has two thick clamps that serve to catch and grind its food or as a means of defense.

9- Nécora

It is a crustacean with a flat and wide shell. Between the eyes it has eight or ten pointed teeth similar to those of a saw. Its first pair of legs are two black claws that it uses to catch its food and defend itself.

10- Centipede

This arthropod has an elongated shape. Some species are tubular in shape and others flattened. However, the main characteristic that identifies them is that they have numerous little feet along the sides of their body.

11- Pauropus

They are tiny arthropods. Their bodies are soft and they have a pair of branched antennae on their heads. On the sides of their body they have 9 to 11 pairs of legs.

12- Bee

13- Red spider

14- Ant

15- velvet worm

16- Cockroach

17- E

18- Cricket

19- Bed bugs

20- Beetle

21- Grasshopper

How Tracheal Breathing Occurs

In animals that breathe through the trachea, air enters through the spiracles. These have small bristles that filter the air and help prevent the entry of foreign elements into the tracheae. They also have a kind of valves regulated by muscles that allow the opening and closing of the spiracles.

The air entering the spiracles passes into the main tracheal tubes. From there it spreads through their ramifications. These branches have very fine tips that are filled with fluid.

Oxygen dissolves in this liquid and from there it expands to adjacent cells. Similarly, carbon dioxide is also dissolved and expelled through the tracheae.

Most arthropod cells are located next to the endings of the tracheal branches. This facilitates the transport of gases involved in respiration without the need for a respiratory protein such as hemoglobin.

Some arthropods have the ability to control the entry and exit of air through the tracheal tubes. For example, when the grasshopper's abdominal muscles contract, the organs press on the flexible tracheal tubes and force air out of them.

When these muscles relax, the pressure on the windpipes decreases, the tubes expand, and the air rushes.

In some of the animals with tracheal respiration there are other organs that complement this type of respiration. Many spiders, for example, have one or two booklet lungs (laminar or philotracheal lungs).

In these respiratory organs, air and blood flow through spaces separated only by thin sheets of tissue. A substance called hemocyanin present in your blood that traps oxygen and turns blue-green as it passes through the laminar lungs.

In the case of aquatic arthropods, there are various adaptations of their tracheal respiratory systems that allow them to breathe in the aqueous environment. Some have an external breathing tube that they draw above the surface of the water. Through this tube, air passes into your tracheal system.

Other aquatic arthropods use air bubbles that adhere to the spiracles and from which they take the necessary oxygen while they are underwater. While others have thorns whose tips bear spiracles.

They pierce the leaves of the plants that are under water with the thorns and through the spiracles they absorb oxygen from the bubbles that form inside the perforated leaves.

Structure of the Trachea

The trachea is an organ that has a very particular structure. Its walls are rigid enough to avoid compression by the weight of adjacent tissues.

This is because the tracheal walls are made up of spiral chitin fibers. However, the walls are also flexible in such a way that they allow pressure up to a certain limit, without undergoing deformation or complete closure of the trachea.

References

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4. Autonomous University of Nuevo León (2006). Notes of Support. Agronomy faculty. Mexico.
5. Torralba, A. (2015). Class Insecta. Odonata order. Magazine 41 pp. 1-22.