Explain poikilothermous with examples
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
A poikilotherm is an animal whose internal temperature varies considerably. It is the opposite of a homeotherm, an animal which maintains thermal homeostasis. While the term in principle can apply to all organisms, it is generally only applied to animals, and mostly to vertebrates. Usually the fluctuations are consequence of variation in the ambient environmental temperature. Many terrestrial ectotherms are poikilothermic. However some ectotherms remain in temperature-constant environments to the point that they are actually able to maintain a constant internal temperature (i.e. are homeothermic). It is this distinction that often makes the term "poikilotherm" more useful than the vernacular "cold-blooded", which is sometimes used to refer to ectotherms more generally.
Poikilothermic animals include types of vertebrate animals, specifically some fish, amphibians, and reptiles, as well as many invertebrate animals. The naked mole-rat and sloth are some of the rare mammals which are poikilothermic.