Here's How These Adorable Mice Can Live at an Extremely High Elevation Where No Other Mammal Is Known to Reside
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The Andean leaf-eared mouse is the highest-dwelling mammal known on the planet, capable of living roughly 22,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. But how do these tiny creatures survive in such an extreme environment, where temperatures are often well below freezing and the air contains just 44 percent of the oxygen available at sea level?
Reported by 1 outlet — Smithsonian. See all sources ↓
The Andean leaf-eared mouse is the highest-dwelling mammal known on the planet, capable of living roughly 22,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. But how do these tiny creatures survive in such an extreme environment, where temperatures are often well below freezing and the air contains just 44 percent of the oxygen available at sea level? The rodents that dwell at high elevations appear to have evolved special physiological adaptations that help them generate body heat efficiently in frigid, low-oxygen conditions, scientists report in a study published July 9 in the journal Science. How and why they ventured up so high in the first place remains a mystery.
Read the full report at Smithsonian ↗
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- The Andean leaf-eared mouse is the highest-dwelling mammal known on the planet, capable of living roughly 22,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. But how do these tiny creatures survive in such an extreme environment, where temperatures are often well below freezing and the air contains just 44 percent of the oxygen available at sea level?
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- 1 outlet, average source rating 7.0/10.
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Here's How These Adorable Mice Can Live at an Extremely High Elevation Where No Other Mammal Is Known to Reside
Sources1TypeCoverageSmithsonian