Life turned inside out. A creature inhabiting every continent except Antarctica breathes in a peculiar manner.

The history of our planet spans over 4.5 billion years, during which Earth has become home to countless living beings: some have long since gone extinct and are known to humans only through fossils, while others have thrived on the planet for hundreds of millions of years, according to IFLScience.

The animal kingdom is filled with bizarre creatures. For instance, whales create bubble nets to catch krill, while remarkable young dragonflies use the rear part of their bodies to breathe. It is known that dragonflies are quite ancient and have existed on the planet since the Paleozoic era—about 350 million years ago.

Research indicates that dragonflies currently inhabit all continents of Earth except Antarctica, and science recognizes approximately 7,000 species in total. What most people do not know about these charming flying dragons is that they are actually voracious predators, even in their youth.

The life cycle of dragonflies is generally divided into three stages:

• egg;
• larva;
• adult.

It is known that females can lay hundreds of eggs, which are typically placed on plants near the water's edge. For most of their lives, dragonflies actually spend time in the larval or nymph stage—this varies by species and can last anywhere from several months to over 5 years.

According to researchers, young dragonflies are particularly fascinating due to a peculiar set of curious adaptations that are somehow related to the rear part of their bodies. Water is drawn in through the anus, and then the nymph contracts its muscles to withstand all that water, which in turn increases the pressure inside the rectum and propels it out through its mouthparts. This burst can occur in just 10-30 milliseconds.

It is also known that young dragonflies can utilize their rear ends for a unique jet propulsion system: water stored in the rectal chamber can be expelled back at high pressure, thus propelling the nymph forward at high speeds.

No less fascinating is the fact that the rectal chamber of dragonflies contains gills. Water flows through these gills, extracting oxygen—simply put, young dragonflies use the rear parts of their bodies for breathing. It is believed that rectal gills evolved from the end of their intestines.

However, such active use of the rear end is observed in dragonflies only at a young age. Adult individuals breathe through openings and tubes along the sides of their bodies, also known as spiracles. There is even an intermediate stage in the last phase of the nymph before it becomes an adult, known as the age stage: interestingly, at this point, individuals can breathe in both ways.