HottestLifestyle
DeepinthePacificOcean,therearecracksinEarth’scrust.Theybelchhotlavaintothesea.Thecracks,calledhydrothermalvents,areprobablythemostextremeenvironmentsontheplanet.Thereisnolighthere.Thetemperatureisscaldinghot.ThisiswherethePompeiiwormmakesits home.
Pompeiiwormslivetogetherincolonies.Howdotheybeattheheat?Withawinningcombinationofmucusand bacteria.
Thewormsreleaseablanketofthickmucusallovertheirbodies.Themucusoffersafoodsourceforheat-resistantbacteria.Bacteriaswarm,eatthemucus,andliveontheworms’skin.Togetherthemucusandbacteriaactasablanketthatshieldsthe wormsfrom heat.
Pompeiiwormsdon’tmindtheheat.
They’veadaptedtolivenearhydrothermal vents.
BiggestChill
AwoodfrognestlesunderfrozenleavesandgrassinAlaska.Winteriscoming.Thetemperaturedrops.Thefrog’sheartbeatslows.Ittakesitslastbreathandfreezessolid.Butit’snotdead!NorthAmericanwoodfrogssimplytakeextrememeasuresto survive.
Mostanimalsdiewhentheygettoocold.Ificeformsinsidetheircells,thecellsburst,andtheanimaldies.Butawoodfrog’sbodyproducesahighlevelofsugarinitsblood.Thesugaractsasanantifreeze.Itprotectsthefrogbynotallowingicetoforminsidethecells.Therestofthefrog’sbodilyfluidsturntoiceinthespacesbetweenthecells.Whenspringarrives,thefrogthaws.Itsheartbeatandbreathingreturn.Thefrogisasgoodas new!
Woodfrogsfreezesolidbutdon’tdieduringthewinterin Alaska.
MostBizarreDefense
Lyinginthedesertsandlikeaspikyrock,theTexashornedlizardismotionless.Thislizardisafavoritefoodoflotsofhungrydesertcreatures.Overtime,ithasdevelopedsomeextremeadaptationstosurvive.
Anearbycoyoteliftsitsnoseandsmellstheair.Itturnsandspotsthelizard.Somuchforcamouflage!Asthecoyoteapproaches,thelizardhissesandpuffsuptolookbigger.
Thecoyoteisunimpressed.Itpouncesandpinsthelizardtotheground.Thenthelizardlaunchesitsextremedefense.Asthecoyotecomesintobiteit,thelizardstraightensup.Itsquirtsastreamofnasty-tastingbloodfromitseyesintothecoyote’smouth.Thisdefensehasadaptedespeciallytodeterattackingcoyotes.
Here’showitworks:Apocketbehindthelizard’seyesfillswithblood.Thelizardsqueezesthepouchandsquirtstheblood.Thebloodtastesdisgustingtocoyotes.Asthecoyoterecoils,thelizardescapes.
Whethertheyareusingsurprisinghuntingstrategies,findingwaystoliveinunsafeenvironments,oravoidingbeingeaten,someanimalsrelyonextremeadaptationstosurvive.
Texashornedlizardscanreallysurprisepredators.Theysquirtfoul-tastingbloodfromtheireyes.
