Poikilotherm

This article needs attention from an expert in biology. The specific problem is: Article could have a lot more information. WikiProject Biology may be able to help recruit an expert. (July 2016)

Thermoregulation in animals
Ectotherm Endotherm Mesotherm Poikilotherm Homeothermy Heterothermy Stenotherm Eurytherm Thermolabile Thermostability Gigantothermy Kleptothermy Bradymetabolism Tachymetabolism Thermogenesis
v t e

A poikilotherm (/ˈpɔɪkələˌθɜːrm, pɔɪˈkɪləˌθɜːrm/) is an animal (Greek poikilos – 'various, spotted', and therme – 'heat) whose internal temperature varies considerably. Poikilotherms have to survive and adapt to environmental stress.^[1] One of the most important stressors is temperature change, which can lead to alterations in membrane lipid order and can cause protein unfolding and denaturation at elevated temperatures.^[1] 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.^[2] However some ectotherms remain in temperature-constant environments to the point that they are actually able to maintain a constant internal temperature and are considered homeothermic.^[3] 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^[4][5] and sloth^[6] are some of the rare mammals which are poikilothermic.