gill slits
Aquatic breathing openings
Gill slits are openings on the sides of aquatic animals that allow water to pass over the gills for breathing.
Fish and aquatic larvae have functional gill slits; in humans and other mammals, they appear briefly during embryonic development before closing.
The presence of embryonic gill slits across vertebrates is cited as evidence of common ancestry.
- spiracleExternal respiratory aperture
- branchialOf aquatic breathing organs
- mudpuppyPermanently aquatic salamander
- fishGilled aquatic vertebrate
- bony fishFish with calcified skeleton
pharyngeal · lamprey · chordate · embryo · notochord · Proteus · shark · anatomy · breathing underwater · tadpole · throat · water · respiration · oxygen · breathing · primitive · aquatic · aquatic life
- aquatic adaptationsfins, swim bladder, flippers, webbed feet, streamlined body
- fish anatomyfins, tail, eye, pelvic fins, dorsal fin
- gillsoperculum, branchial arch
- shark partsdorsal fin, pectoral fin, teeth, cartilage, snout
- vestigial structuresappendix, coccyx, tailbone, wisdom teeth, plantaris
- lancelet anatomynotochord, atrium, velum, ocelli