Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. Dolphins and whales breathe through blowholes.

Question

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Dolphins and whales breathe through blowholes.

2. Earthworms breathe through their skin.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. Only 2
2. B. Neither 1 nor 2
3. C. Both 1 and 2 (Correct answer)
4. D. Only 1

Correct Answer

Option C — Both 1 and 2

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Both 1 and 2.

Key Points

• Statement 1 is correct. Dolphins and whales are mammals, not fish. They breathe air through blowholes — nostrils that have migrated to the top of the head — and must surface to do so.
• Statement 2 is correct. Earthworms breathe through their skin (cutaneous respiration). They have no specialised respiratory organs; gases diffuse through the moist body wall into the blood.
• Both hold, giving option (c).

Additional Information

• Toothed whales (including dolphins and sperm whales) have a single blowhole; baleen whales (blue, humpback) have two.
• Being mammals, cetaceans are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and suckle them; they are insulated by a layer of blubber. Whale sharks, despite the name, are fish and breathe through gills.
• Respiratory surfaces across the animal kingdom: skin — earthworm, frog (also lungs); tracheae — insects; gills — fish and prawns; book lungs — spiders and scorpions; lungs — reptiles, birds and mammals.
• An earthworm's skin must stay moist for diffusion to work, which is why earthworms live in damp soil, emerge at night or after rain, and die quickly when dried out.