endotherm
/ˈɛndə(ʊ)θəːm
/noun Zoology
An animal that is dependent on or capable of the internal generation of heat. Often contrasted with ectotherm. Compare with homeotherm.They are endotherms and they can finely tune the thermal, water, and chemical balance of their bodies from minute to minute....
- However, the problem is severe for an endotherm, particularly a small endotherm, which must maintain a steady internal temperature and has a considerably greater demand for respiratory oxygen.
- Extant birds are accomplished endotherms and many maintain the highest body temperatures.
Derivatives
endothermy
- ‘How did endothermy evolve in mammals?’
- The main basis for the faster absorption of nutrients in mammals to fuel endothermy and increased activity relative to reptiles has been shown to be a much greater intestinal surface area in mammals.
- Toward the end of the reign of dinosaurs, some animals, the future mammals and birds, evolved endothermy.
Origin
1940s: from endo- 'within', on the pattern of homeotherm.