Definition of "endotherm" []

• An organism that generates heat to maintain its body temperature, typically above the temperature of its surroundings; a homeotherm. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "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)."
• "Whereas an endotherm expends a tremendous amount of energy just to maintain a constant body temperature, a cold ectotherm can pass months at a time requiring little food or oxygen."
• "I'm not accusing biologists of being endotherm-centric Whiggs, but if the shoe fits ..."