The key difference between cold blooded and warm blooded Animals is that cold-blooded animals rely on external factors for temperature regulation, while warm-blooded animals can regulate their body temperature internally.
What are Cold Blooded Animals?
Cold-blooded animals, also known as ectotherms, are creatures whose body temperature is primarily determined by the surrounding environment rather than being regulated internally like warm-blooded animals (endotherms). These animals cannot produce their own body heat, so they rely on external sources to maintain their body temperature.
Examples of cold-blooded animals include reptiles (such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles), amphibians (like frogs, toads, and salamanders), fish, and some invertebrates (such as insects and certain types of crustaceans).
Because their body temperature is highly influenced by the environment, cold-blooded animals tend to be more active in warmer temperatures when their metabolism is faster. Conversely, they become sluggish or enter a state of torpor during colder weather when their metabolic processes slow down. This adaptation allows them to conserve energy during unfavorable conditions.
What are Warm Blooded Animals?
Warm-blooded animals, also known as endothermic animals, are organisms that can regulate their body temperature internally. This means they can maintain a relatively constant body temperature independent of the surrounding environment. They achieve this by producing metabolic heat through various processes within their bodies.
Warm-blooded animals can be found in various groups, including mammals (such as humans, dogs, and cats), birds, and some reptiles (such as certain species of dinosaurs and some modern reptiles like birds). These animals have higher metabolic rates compared to cold-blooded animals, which allows them to be active in a wide range of environmental conditions.
Cold Blooded vs Warm Blooded Animals
The major difference between cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals are given below:
| Warm blooded animals | Warm-blooded animals | |
| Definition | Warm blooded animals are organisms that have the ability to generate and maintain their body temperature independently of their surrounding environment. | Cold-blooded animals exhibit various adaptations to cope with temperature fluctuations& the animals can’t produce internal heat. |
| Example: | Mammals (such as humans, dogs, cats, and whales) and birds. | Reptiles (such as snakes, lizards, and turtles), amphibians (such as frogs and salamanders), fish. |
| Heat production | Can produce internal heat. | Can’t produce internal heat. |
| Effect of external temperature | Body temperature changes with changes in the surrounding temperature. | Environmental temperature does not affect body heat. |
| Activity &dormancy period | Warm-blooded animals can be as active in summer as in winter. Warm-blooded animals can regulate their internal body temperature and keep it relatively constant, even when the ambient temperature fluctuates | They are often more active during warmer periods when their body temperature rises, and become less active or enter periods of dormancy during colder periods when their body temperature drops. |
| Heart chambers | Have four chambered heart. | Mostly have two or three-chambered hearts. |