âº a gradual process of change and development. âº biology Evolution is the process by which the physical characteristics of types of creatures change over time, new types of creatures develop, and others disappear. (Definition of âevolutionâ from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary Â© Cambridge University Press)
You can remember the difference between endotherms and ectotherms if you remember that endo- means inside endo- = inside and ecto- means outside ecto- = outside, so endotherms generate their own heat from within, and ectotherms get their heat from the outside.
Warm-blooded animal species can maintain a body temperature higher than their environment. In particular, homeothermic species maintain a stable body temperature by regulating metabolic processes. The only known homeotherms are birds and mammals. Other species have various degrees of thermoregulation. Animal body temperature control varies by species, so the terms warm-blooded and cold-blooded (though still in everyday use) suggest a false idea of there being only two categories of body temperature control, and are no longer used scientifically.