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Lampreys have survived in their present form for at least 360 million years due to adaptations that allow them to cope with a range of environmental challenges, including those experienced during their complex life cycle. A monomeric, high O2-affinity hemoglobin allows lampreys to tolerate hypoxic waters, such as those faced by burrow-dwelling larval lampreys within the substrate of streams. A switch from unidirectionally ventilated to tidally ventilated gills after metamorphosis allows parasitic lampreys to breath while attached to fish during feeding. The gills and kidneys are also restructured, taking up and retaining Na+ and Cl− in dilute freshwaters, but excreting these ions in salt water. Phylogenetically ancient lampreys provide us with unique insight into the challenges and adaptations faced by ancestral vertebrates, and how physiological processes evolved in the vertebrates.
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Elsevier