Aaaahhhh!!!!!!!!
All organisms are adapted to their surroundings. They have all these variations so - they can survive in whatever habitat that they are living in.
There are a few specific animals that you must know about.
1) Sharks. Don't just think of the obvious bits, like streamlined shape to move fast and catch their prey, or sharp teeth to catch and kill their prey. Shark tissues contain TMAO - ( this stands for trimethylamine N-oxide if you are interested - but you don't have to know it) Anyhow, TMAO is poisonous to humans in high concentrations - so don't go to your local chippie and ask for shark and chips please! But wait, why would a shark evolve to be poisonous to human beings? We didn't evolve to be a predator of sharks! Here's clue. Greenland sharks, found in the Arctic Ocean, which is pretty cold, OK very cold, contain much higher amounts of TMAO than other sharks. Why? It;s because TMAO happens to be a natural antifreeze and just happens to be poisonous to us by the way.
2) Polar bears. Yes, all right we all know its got white fur for camouflage and maybe the thick fur and blubber for insulation. You might even know already about it having large feet to spread out its weight - reduces the pressure on the snow and ice or even that it has got rough soles on its feet to grip the ice. But, did you know that it has small ears to reduce the heat loss? Did I mention the sharp teeth?
3) The final animal is the Pompeii worm. Yes, I admit it. It's not exactly a well known beastie is it - but it is a survivor and a great example of the variety of organisms. So, what's so special about this worm. Well, mainly it has adapted to live near deap-sea hydrothermal vents. Here, hot water at temperatures of more than 350 oC come out of the vents and cool quickly. This is at depths of over 2km where it completely dark with high pressures, over 200 times those at sea-level. This worm spends a lot of its time inside a papery tube to protect itself from predators. It is covered in a thick layer of bacteria, that helps protect it from the heat. It can also survive the great pressure. It also has no eyes 'cos it's so dark if it had it wouldn't be able to see anything anyway!
2) Polar bears. Yes, all right we all know its got white fur for camouflage and maybe the thick fur and blubber for insulation. You might even know already about it having large feet to spread out its weight - reduces the pressure on the snow and ice or even that it has got rough soles on its feet to grip the ice. But, did you know that it has small ears to reduce the heat loss? Did I mention the sharp teeth?
3) The final animal is the Pompeii worm. Yes, I admit it. It's not exactly a well known beastie is it - but it is a survivor and a great example of the variety of organisms. So, what's so special about this worm. Well, mainly it has adapted to live near deap-sea hydrothermal vents. Here, hot water at temperatures of more than 350 oC come out of the vents and cool quickly. This is at depths of over 2km where it completely dark with high pressures, over 200 times those at sea-level. This worm spends a lot of its time inside a papery tube to protect itself from predators. It is covered in a thick layer of bacteria, that helps protect it from the heat. It can also survive the great pressure. It also has no eyes 'cos it's so dark if it had it wouldn't be able to see anything anyway!
