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found this :-)

 
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loxocemus
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Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Posts: 37

PostPosted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:02 pm    Post subject: found this :-) Reply with quote

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17723842.900-reptile-uses-unusual-orifice-to-keep-cool.html

THE Gila monster cools down in a most unusual way: by using its cloaca.

Keeping cool is a challenge in the desert, where temperatures top 40 °C in the shade. But Tricia Zubal at Arizona State University, Tempe, has found that the poisonous reptile can keep its body 3 °C below the ambient temperature by allowing water to evaporate from its cloaca. This is the first time a reptile has been shown to cool itself this way. Her results were presented at the AAAS meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Why Gila monsters resort to this unusual measure rather than simply opening their mouths, as some other reptiles do, is not clear, but Zubal speculates that this might compromise the quality of their venom, which is released into the mouth like saliva.
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Scott W
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Joined: 15 Apr 2004
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

very interesting, thanks for the post.
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Rickeezee
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Joined: 18 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just goes to show how clever mother nature is and how well species adapt to their environments. Very interesting thanks.
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