WHY ANIMALS DO THE THING

giffingsharks:

Due to powerful tides, this teeming reef has become a series of shallow tide pools. An Epaulette shark is caught on the reef in the deadly Australian sun. Not to fear, this little shark has evolved ways to survive out of water. By shutting down its organs one by one, it can cope without oxygen sixty times longer than a human. And, if necessary, it can switch to survival tactic number two; it can use its fins as a pair of rudimentary legs to make its way back to the nearest tide pool, and the cool ocean water. This is the only shark that can walk its way out of trouble.

This doesn’t even mention my favorite part! Epaulette sharks don’t ‘shut down their organs’ - they actually switch from aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration! We don’t really know how the mechanism works yet, but it’s groundbreaking and being studied in order to help stroke patients.