World’s Only Known Cold-Blooded Mammal Lived On An Island And Aged Similar To A Crocodile
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author
ELEANOR HIGGS
One of the things we first learn about the animal kingdom is the difference between warm and cold-blooded animals. While reptiles bask in the sun to get warm, mammals – including those in the sea – must eat regularly to gain the energy needed to sustain a constant internal temperature. However, one mammal, trapped on a resource-poor Mediterranean island, did something rather extraordinary and reversed the norm, becoming the only cold-blooded mammal in the world.
A long-extinct goat species, Myotragus balearicus, once roamed across the land that would have connected the Balearic Islands to mainland Europe. Here it stayed, and as the Balearic Islands became surrounded by the sea the ancient goat found itself living on what is now the Spanish island of Mallorca.
At only 45 centimeters (17.7 inches) tall, these animals underwent a series of morphological changes resulting in shorter limbs, a smaller brain size, and smaller sense organs – effectively becoming a dwarf species – to survive. These goats are also the first animals to have been discovered with the same kind of bone structures that are found in reptiles.
https://www.iflscience.com/worlds-only-known-cold-blooded-mammal-lived-on-an-island-and-aged-similar-to-a-crocodile-72641
