February 19, 2013, 11:26 am Content Cover Image  Mexican (or
Brazilian) Free-Tailed Bats, Tadarida brasiliensis, emerging
from Carlsbad Caverns, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New
Mexico. (Source: Nick Hristov)  The term endotherm refers to
animals (birds, mammals, some fishes and insects, and even some
plants) that are capable of generating sufficient amounts of
heat energy to maintain a high core temperature (e.g. 37-40 °C
in birds and mammals) by metabolic means – usually derived from
aerobic activity of locomotor muscles in animals and by unique
biochemical mechanisms in plants (e.g., skunk cabbage).
Endotherms differ from an ectotherm because they typically have
core temperatures above that of the surrounding environment,
whereas the core temperatures of ectotherms depend on external
sources of heat – primarily from solar radiation.   caption
Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). (Photo: J.S.
Altenbach)   Endothermic animals, birds, and mammals that
regulate their core body temperature at a