Ectothermic (sometimes confusingly known as "cold-blooded") refers to organisms that control body temperature through external means. As a result, organisms are dependent on environmental heat sources[1] and have relatively low metabolic Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms in order to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories. Catabolism breaks down organic matter, for example to harvest energy in rates.[2] For example, many reptiles Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded amniotes that have skin covered in scales or scutes as opposed to hair or feathers. They are tetrapods and lay amniote eggs, whose embryos are surrounded by the amnion membrane. Modern reptiles inhabit every continent with the exception of Antarctica, and four living regulate their body temperature by basking in the sun. Many ectotherms are more specifically poikilothermic.[2]
See also
- Gigantothermy The phenomenon is important in the biology of ectothermic megafauna, such as large turtles , and aquatic reptiles like ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs. It is also present in certain large fish, most notably the great white shark. Gigantotherms, though almost always ectothermic, generally have a body temperature and metabolic rate similar to that of
- Poikilotherm
- Endotherm
Notes
- ^ Jay M. Savage ; with photographs by Michael Fogden and Patricia Fogden. (2005). The amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica : a herpetofauna between two continents, between two seas. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press. p. 409. ISBN 0226735389.
- ^ a b Milton Hildebrand; G. E. Goslow, Jr. Pprincipal ill. Viola Hildebrand. (2001). Analysis of vertebrate structure. New York: Wiley. p. 429. ISBN 0471295051.
| This biology Biology is the science that studies living organisms. Prior to the nineteenth century, biology came under the general study of all natural objects called natural history. The term biology was first coined by Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus.[citation needed] It is now a standard subject of instruction at schools and universities around the world, and article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Categories: Animal physiology
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