Eli5 do ocean animals like fish or sea turtles need to drink water? If so how do they do it?
In: 2733
Fish and sea turtles are able to obtain the water they need from saltwater. Fish have powerful kidneys that can pump salt out of the water and concentrate it into their urine, bringing the salinity down to where it should be in their blood. Turtles are different in that they have special glands behind their eyes that filter out and eject the salt from the water they drink.
Mammals though in general cannot drink saltwater even if they live in it their entire lives. Dolphins for example can’t drink seawater and instead get all their moisture intake from the food they eat; if they are starving then they are also dehydrating.
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