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Gigantothermy (sometimes called ectothermic homeothermy or inertial homeothermy) is a phenomenon with significance in biology and paleontology, whereby large, bulky ectothermic animals are more easily able to maintain a constant, relatively high body temperature than smaller animals by virtue of their smaller surface-area-to-volume ratio. [1]
Feathered theropods are probably the best candidates for dinosaur endothermy, yet the examined theropods had relatively low body temperatures 32.0 °C (89.6 °F). Large sauropods had higher body temperatures 37.0 °C (98.6 °F), which may be reflective of mesothermic gigantothermy.
Thermographic image: a cold-blooded snake is shown eating a warm-blooded mouse. Warm-blooded is an informal term referring to animal species whose bodies maintain a temperature higher than that of their environment.
The group that includes mammals and birds, both "warm-blooded" homeothermic animals (in red) is polyphyletic.. Homeothermy, homothermy or homoiothermy [1] is thermoregulation that maintains a stable internal body temperature regardless of external influence.
Skull of E. mirabilis. Estemmenosuchus could reach a body length of more than 3 m (10 ft). [2] Its skull was long and massive, up to 65 cm (26 in) in length, [2] and possessed several sets of large horns, somewhat similar to the antlers of a moose, growing upward and outward from the sides and top of the head.
The common frog is a poikilotherm and is able to function over a wide range of body core temperatures.. A poikilotherm (/ ˈ p ɔɪ k ə l ə ˌ θ ɜːr m, p ɔɪ ˈ k ɪ l ə ˌ θ ɜːr m /) is an animal (Greek poikilos – 'various', 'spotted', and therme – 'heat') whose internal temperature varies considerably.
Various patterns of behavior enable certain ectotherms to regulate body temperature to a useful extent. To warm up, reptiles and many insects find sunny places and adopt positions that maximise their exposure; at harmfully high temperatures they seek shade or cooler water.
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation.