aquatic animal

Before entering fully to define the term aquatic animal, we are going to proceed to determine its etymological origin. In doing so we discover that the two words that shape it emanate from Latin:
• Animal, comes from "animal" which can be translated as any being that has breathing.
• Aquatic, meanwhile, derives from “aquaticus”. This term is composed of two clearly differentiated parts: the noun “aqua”, which is synonymous with “water”, and the suffix “-tico”, which is used to indicate “relative to”.

The animals are those living beings that are part of the kingdom AnimaliaThey can move on their own, reproduce sexually, absorb oxygen by breathing, and eat food. The concept, in its broadest sense, includes the Homo sapiens although, in general, the use of the term is limited to non-rational animals.

Water, for its part, is an adjective that refers to what is related to the Water. The word is often used with reference to those beings that live in it or objects that, by their nature, remain in the water constantly.

The aquatic animals, therefore, are those living beings belonging to the Animalia Kingdom what happens most of their subsistence in the water. This does not mean, however, that these are only animals capable of breathing underwater, but that there are aquatic animals that must come to the surface to capture the oxygen.

Although there are many different types of aquatic animals, it is important to know that all of them have a series of common characteristics such as these that we show below:
• They have had to adapt to the sea, specifically to its tides and the different water currents that are produced. Hence, some have fins, other basal discs, some have shells ...
• No less important is that the diet of these living beings, in one way or another, depends on phytoplankton, which is a species of plant that lives in the sea and is microscopic. And it is that it is located in the nutritional base of said animals.
• It should also be noted that they have also had to adapt to water temperatures, so each class has mechanisms that do so: scales, pale blood ...

The fishes they are the most representative example of aquatic animals. These vertebrates have gills to breathe underwater, so they do not need to get out of the water: in fact, when they are removed from their environment, they die. Fish have fins for swimming and their bodies are usually covered in scales.

Other aquatic animals, on the other hand, must rise to the surface to breathe. That is the case of Dolphin, a mammal It has a single blowhole to absorb oxygen from the air.

It is important to note that there are aquatic animals that also spend a good amount of time on the land, so they are usually classified as semi-aquatic. The beavers and the hippos, for example, they are in this group.

It must be borne in mind that within the group of aquatic animals there are several that are in danger of extinction, such as the Mediterranean monk seal, the sea otter, the gray whale or the napoleon fish, among others.