Warm-blooded animals, like mammals and birds, can control their body temperature. They stay warm even when it’s cold outside. Cold-blooded animals, like reptiles, amphibians, and fish, change their body temperature based on the weather. That means if it’s hot outside, they become warm; if it’s cold, they become slow and cool. Mammals and birds are the two main types of warm-blooded animals. Cold-blooded animals include reptiles like snakes, amphibians like frogs, and fish like goldfish. Warm-blooded animals need more food to keep their body warm, but cold-blooded ones don’t need that much food.
MY NOTES: Warm-blooded animals keep a steady body temperature, while cold-blooded animals change with the environment.
If being an endotherm (warm-blooded) allows an animal to be active in the cold, why aren't all animals endotherms? What specific benefits does being an ectotherm (cold-blooded) offer that have allowed them to be so successful in so many environments?
Some dinosaurs were once thought to be slow-moving, cold-blooded reptiles. However, some scientists now believe they may have been mesotherms, a state in between endotherms and ectotherms. What kind of evidence would scientists need to find in fossils to determine how a dinosaur regulated its body temperature?
Consider an ectotherm (like a snake) and an endotherm (like a mouse) of the same size living in the same desert environment. How would their daily behaviors, hunting strategies, and water needs differ, especially comparing their activities during a very hot day versus a cold night?