Page 67 - Mammal (DK Eyewitness)
P. 67
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Can a mammal ever be
Record Breakers Qcold-blooded?
A mammal is by definition a
S Awarm-blooded creature.
However, there are some interesting
• The record is a close call between the Kitti’s exceptions to this rule. The naked
hognosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai), mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber)—
which is about 1 in (2.54 cm) long and 0.06 oz which lives on the desert fringes of
(1.6 g) in weight, and the pygmy shrew (Suncus Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya—
etruscus), which averages about 1.5 in (3.8 cm) cannot maintain a steady body
in length and weighs 0.05 oz (1.5 g). temperature. Its temperature
fluctuates with that of the
H atmosphere, making this creature
• The sperm whale has the heaviest brain of any essentially cold-blooded. Naked
living animal. At about 20 lb (9 kg), this whale’s mole rats huddle together to slow
brain is four times heavier than a human’s. their rate of heat loss and bask in
shallow tunnels warmed by the sun.
The Arctic ground squirrel
S
(Spermophilus parryii) is also unusual
• The smallest sea mammal is Commerson’s in that it is the only mammal that Arctic ground squirrel, native to Alaska
dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii), which can lower its body temperature to
averages 4.1 ft (1.25 m) in length and weighs just below freezing during
522 lb (237 kg). hibernation. By doing this, the Q Which mammal has the biggest eyes?
squirrel saves energy, which helps it
L survive the Arctic climate. The tarsier is one of the smallest
Aprimates and lives in the forests of
• Humans are the longest-lived mammals, but
Borneo and Sumatra in the Philippines. A
the Asian elephant comes a close second, with
What is the biggest land tarsier averages 6 in (15 cm) in length, but its
the oldest known specimen having lived to 78.
Qmammal? eyes are proportionally so large that they
would be equivalent to grapefruit-sized eyes
The biggest land mammal is the in a human. Galagos, known as bush babies,
Which mammal has the longest AAfrican bush elephant also share the tarsier’s large eye-to-body
Qgestation period? (Loxodonta africana). Adult males can ratio. They can be found in sub-Saharan
measure up to 11 ft (3.3 m) in length African forests.
The Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus) and weigh up to 6.8 tons (7 tonnes).
Ahas the longest gestation period at
22 months. Opossums have the shortest
pregnancy of any mammal, and bear their
young just 12–13 days after conception.
Which mammal is the deepest sea
Qdiver?
The sperm whale can dive the deepest,
Aat 1.8 miles (3 km). Northern elephant
seals (Mirounga angustirostris) can dive to African bush
depths of 0.9 miles (1.5 km). elephant
A pair of Northern
elephant seals
