Which of these animals uses buccal respiration?

Answer Details

Buccal respiration is a mode of breathing in which an animal pumps air into and out of its lungs by raising and lowering the floor of its mouth (the buccal cavity). The toad, an amphibian, uses this method. During buccal respiration, the toad lowers the floor of its mouth with the nostrils open, drawing air into the buccal cavity. The nostrils then close, and the floor of the mouth is raised, forcing air into the lungs. This buccal pumping mechanism supplements cutaneous (skin) respiration, which is also important in amphibians.

Tilapia (a bony fish) respires using gills, not buccal pumping. Birds use a highly efficient system of air sacs and parabronchi in their lungs, powered by movements of the ribcage and sternum. Grasshoppers and other insects respire through a tracheal system, a network of tubes (tracheae and tracheoles) that deliver air directly to body tissues through openings called spiracles.

Buccal respiration is a characteristic feature of amphibians, and it is commonly tested alongside cutaneous respiration as a defining amphibian trait.