Pompeiiwormsdon’tmindtheheat.
They’veadaptedtoliveinhot places.
HottestLifestyle
DeepinthePacificOcean,therearecracksinEarth’scrust.Theyreleasehotlavaintothesea.Thereisnolighthere.Thetemperatureisscaldinghot.ThisiswherethePompeiiwormmakesitshome.Howdoesitbeattheheat?Withawinningcombinationofmucusand bacteria.
Thewormscovertheirbodieswithmucus.Themucusisfoodforbacteria.Thebacteriacoverthewormsastheyeatthemucus.Togetherthemucusandbacteriashieldthewormsfrom heat.
Woodfrogsfreezesolidbutdon’t die duringthewinterinAlaska.
BiggestChill
AwoodfrognestlesunderfrozenleavesinAlaska.Winteriscoming.Thetemperaturedrops.Thefrog’sheartbeatslows.Ittakesitslastbreathandfreezessolid.Butit’snotdead!NorthAmericanwoodfrogssimplytakeextrememeasuresto survive.
Mostanimalsdiewhentheygettoocold.Ificeformsinsidetheircells,thecellsburst.Theanimaldies.Awoodfrog’sbodyproducesahighlevelofsugarinitsblood.Itactsasanantifreeze.Itprotectsthefrogbynotallowingicetoforminsidethecells.Inspring,thefrogthaws out.
MostBizarreDefense
Lyinginthedesertsand,theTexashornedlizardismotionless.Itlookslikeaspiky rock.
Anearbycoyoteliftsitsnoseandsmellstheair.It turnsandspotsthelizard.Asthecoyoteapproaches,thelizardhisses.Itpuffsuptolook bigger.
Thecoyoteisnotimpressed.Itpouncesandpinsthelizardtotheground.Thelizardlaunchesitsextremedefense.Asthecoyotecomesintobiteit,thelizardsqueezesbloodfromitseyes.Itsquirtsitintothecoyote’smouth. Yuck!
Thebloodtastesdisgusting.Asthecoyotebacksoff,thelizardruns away!
Someanimalsusesurprisinghuntingstrategies.Othersfindwaystoliveinunsafeenvironmentsoravoidbeingeaten.Alloftheseanimalsrelyonextremeadaptationsforevery‑day survival.
Texashornedlizardscanreallysurprisepredators.Theysquirtfoul-tastingbloodfromtheir eyes.
