User:Emigracew/Hypostomus plecostomus

New physiology Section

Hypostomus plecostomus is one of many species of fish that is able to breath air. Hypostomus plecostomus relies on its gills for respiration in normal and slightly hypoxic water, and the less oxygen present in the water, the more frequently it surfaces to breathe air (1). The air is taken to the stomach where the oxygen is absorbed, and the air can be kept in the stomach to increase buoyancy, which may help it to feed on vegetation(2).

1. Gill morphometry of the facultative air-breathing loricariid fish,Hypostomus plecostomus (Walbaum) with, special emphasis on aquatic respiration, Perna and Fernandes 1996 Fish Physiology and Biochemistry

2. The Transition to Air Breathing in Fishes:: I. Environmental Effects on the Facultative Air Breathing of Ancistrus Chagresi and Hypostomus Plecostomus Loricariidae. 1982   GRAHAM, J. B., & BAIRD, T. A.   https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/96/1/53/23365/The-Transition-to-Air-Breathing-in-Fishes-I