- casualSTEM
- Posts
- Scuba Diving Lizards Trap Air Bubbles to Breathe Underwater
Scuba Diving Lizards Trap Air Bubbles to Breathe Underwater
STEM Snacks

casualSTEM delivers brief and informative summaries of the latest science news every Saturday. Full of jokes, silly polls, and a cartoon!
Get the weekly email that explains science in sweatpants. Stay smart for free.


image created by Steve Burgess with chatGPT 4o
Scuba Lizards
Scuba diving lizards nose breath underwater. Researchers studied how Anolis aquaticus trap air bubbles over their nostrils to evade predators.
Natural dives last 20+ minutes
Study applied moisturizer to prevent bubbles
No bubble = 32% shorter dives
A. aquaticus joins the small group of known animals to intentionally bring oxygen on dives (like diving bell spiders and humans). Next up: determining if the bubbles pull in oxygen from water. And if lizards are PADI eligible.
Reply