A study published earlier this year describes a newly discovered adaptation in Emperor Penguins that helps them keep warm in the frigid Antarctic: They allow their exteriors to cool below the temperature of their environment. Their cool outer feathers draw in a small amount of heat through thermal convection. An Emperor Penguin’s specialized adaptations to the cold allow it to maintain its core temperature in ambient temperatures as low as -53 degrees Fahrenheit.
image via Université de Strasbourg and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
via Popular Science
