system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is there a period where tadpoles can breathe both in the water and on land or does the transition happen instantaneously?
gpt
Tadpoles (as well as some salamander larvae) develop lungs while still in the aquatic stage. At that point, they need to breathe air. Large tadpoles can easily pop their mouths above water to get a gulp of air. However, tadpoles at small body sizes can’t actually breach the surface on their own. Instead, they have to utilize a mechanism called “bubble sucking” where they blow tiny bubbles at the surface. The bubble fills with oxygen and they then “suck” it into their lungs - all without ever breaching the surface.