Hot bodies
Question: Why is the body temperature of mammals 37 °C? It seems
extraordinarily high when you consider that it is hotter than most environments
on Earth. What purpose does this serve?
Answer: There are important reasons why the body temperature of warm-blooded
or homeothermic animals (mammals and birds) is higher than most Earthly
environments.
A high body temperature speeds the metabolic rate which allows for faster
movement. Reptiles, which are cold-blooded or poikilothermic rather than
homeothermic, were unable to hunt or escape attack until their bodies warmed up,
usually by basking on a sunny rock. The reptile that…
