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.

Brr!

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.