Newt
During the subsequent few months, the larvae undergo metamorphosis, during which they develop legs, and the gills are absorbed and replaced by air-breathing lungs. Some species, such as the North American newts, also become more brightly coloured during this phase. Once fully metamorphosised, they leave the water and live a terrestrial life, when they are known as "efts". Only when the eft reaches adulthood will the North American species return to live in water, rarely venturing back onto the land. Conversely, most European species live their adult lives on land and only visit water to breed.
Peripheral chemoreceptors
Respiration in neonates is very irregular, prone to periodic breathing and apnea. In utero and at birth, the carotid body’s response to hypoxia is not fully developed; it takes a few days to a few weeks to increase its sensitivity to that of an adult carotid body. During this period of development, it is proposed that neonates heavily rely on other oxygen-sensing chemoreceptors, such as the aortic body or central chemoreceptors. However, non-carotid body chemoreceptors are sometimes not enough to ensure appropriate ventilatory response; SIDS deaths occur most frequently during the days or weeks in which the carotid body is still developing, and it is suggested that lack of appropriate carotid body activity is implicated in this condition. SIDS victims often are reported to have displayed some of the characteristic troubles in carotid body development, including periodic breathing, much sleep apnea, impaired arousal during sleep, and low sensitivity to hypoxia. The carotid bodies of SIDS victims also often display physiological abnormalities, such as hypo- and hypertrophy. Many of the findings on to carotid body’s relation to SIDS report that carotid body development is impaired by environmental factors that were already known to increase the risk of SIDS, such as premature birth and exposure to smoke, substances of abuse, hyperoxia, and hypoxia, so it may seem initially as if carotid body studies are only extending what we know about SIDS into another domain. However, understanding the mechanisms that impair carotid body development could help elucidate how certain aspects of neonatal, particularly premature, care might be improved. For example, oxygen therapy may be an example of a technique that exposes premature infants to such high oxygen levels that it prevents them from acquiring appropriate sensitivity to normal oxygen levels.