I was just thinking about how no organism that evolves lungs develops gills if they become aquatic again, and I wonder if it’s probably because lungs are so good at absorbing oxygen that they’re still better than gills
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Evolution tends to conserve functions, even if they aren't the best at the job, as long as it doesn't kill you before reproduction. It why we have so many weird things wandering the planet...
Oh that’s true. But I was also thinking that the oxygen concentration of air is higher than it is in water and lungs are especially good at absorbing it. Though I haven’t done the math
Hold over maybe from when cetacean evolved? It was much warmer in the past, oceans included. And warmer seas have lower oxygen concentrations. That said, modern ones don't have a tolerance for especially warm waters overall, so past evolutionary pressures aren't present ones...
Oh I mean in general, regardless of specific conditions, lungs are more efficient at respiration. Mostly because air circulates faster than water and is more concentrated in oxygen. Though water is obviously much denser so it’s not a trivial thing to figure out
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