Stinkpot turtle breathes through tongue

The common musk turtle, Sternotherus odoratus, turns out to have an unusual ability: breathing underwater through its tongue.

In a paper, Austrian researchers describe how they noticed the turtle's curious eating habits under high-speed video, and used a scanning electron microscope to examine the lingual papillae.

The same group previously explained how a newt used its ribs as poisonous barbs, puncturing its own skin and that of animal hoping to consume it.

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