Everything about Heterothermic totally explained
Heterothermic (from Greek:
hetero = "other"
thermy = "heat.") is a physiological term referring to a unique case of
poikilothermy. Heterothermic creatures are
homeothermic for a portion of the day, or year. More often than not, it's usually used as a way to dissociate the fluctuating metabolic rates seen in some small mammals & birds (for example
bats &
hummingbirds), from those of traditional
cold blooded animals. In many
bat species, body temperature and metabolic rate, are elevated only during activity. When at rest, these animals reduce their
metabolisms drastically, which results in their body temperature dropping to that of the surrounding environment. This makes them
homeothermic when active, and
poikilothermic when at rest.
Note: Strictly speaking, heterothermy is just a variant of
poikilothermy, as the internal body temperature still varies.
Regional heterothermy
Regional heterothermy is a far more specific type of heterothermy. It describes organisms that are able to maintain different temperature "zones" in different regions of the body. This usually occurs in the limbs, and is made possible through the use of counter current heat exchangers, such as the
rete mirabile found in tuna and certain birds. These exchangers equalise the temperature between hot arterial blood going out to the extremities and cold venous blood coming back, thus reducing heat loss. Penguins and many arctic
birds use these exchangers to keep their feet at roughly the same temperature as the surrounding ice. This keeps the
birds from getting stuck on an ice sheet. Other animals, like the
Leatherback Sea Turtle, use the heat exchangers to gather, and retain heat generated by their muscular flippers. There are even some
insects which possess this mechanism, the best-known example being
bumblebees, which exhibit counter current heat exchange at the point of constriction between the
mesosoma ("thorax") and
metasoma ("abdomen"); heat is retained in the thorax and lost from the abdomen. Using a very similar mechanism, the internal temperature of a
honeybee's thorax can exceed 45C while in flight.
Further Information
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