Stink Fights, Earwax, and Other Marvelous Mammal Adaptations

PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE

, s t h g i F k n i t , S x a w Ear a

Marvelo u s er

O t d n h

l a m m Ma s n o i t a t p a d A LAURA PERDEW

Illustrated by Katie Mazeika

Can you haiku?

Mammal Adaptations Stink fights and earwax, Trunks, tunnels, and two-foot tongues, Odd adaptations.

Not Lazy, Well-Adapted Sloths just hang in trees, As algae grows on their fur, Green coat hiding them.

A Star-Nosed Mole Fleshy tentacles Form a star, touching, feeling, Searching for dinner.

An Elephant’s Trunk That nose is part hose, Snorkel, straw, fork, and alarm, And, of course, sniffer.

Mammals have all kinds of marvelous adaptations to help them survive.

You might already know that giraffes have long necks to help them reach leaves on tall trees.

And that cheetahs are super fast, so they can catch a quick dinner.

But do you know how lemurs settle an argument?

1

Stink fights!

Ring-tailed lemurs produce a terrible scent.

Sometimes, male lemurs rub this scent on their tails. Then, they wave their tails—and the smell—into the air. The lemur who can stand the stink the longest, wins!

2

t, m

By having a stink fig h can settle things w ale le m ou urs tg e tt ing hur t. i th

3

Did you know that earwax is an adaptation, too?

It is! In some whales, wax builds up so much it creates a plug. Yup, no such thing as a whale Q-tip.

That’s okay, though.

e ag the rn lea can sts nti

By studying whale e arw ax , sc ie

The earwax plug works like a hearing aid, helping whales to hear even better.

4

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wh ale.

of its env iro n

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h t l ea h e h t d They also d n a , y r iscover its life histo

5

Elephants have an excellent sense of smell.

Like whales, you probably use your ears just for hearing.

Not African elephants!

They use their huge ears for hearing

AND 6

flapping to stay cool.

One of the best in the animal world!

They also stay cool by using their trunk like a hose to spray water over their backs.

Their trunks can be used as a straw, a snorkel, a fork, fingers, an arm, and an alarm, too.

They even use it as a regular nose—

to sniff things!

7

You know who else has an impressive nose?

Star-nosed moles!

Their noses have 22 fleshy tentacles that form a star.

But those noses aren’t sniffing for food. They’re feeling for food. Each tentacle is very sensitive and moves so fast the mole can identify its prey in less than half a second.

Try feeling around for a snack with your nose!

8

les can tou o m d e s o n ch Starbjects per seco o 2 1 nd up to h their nos e! it w

9

Activity Time!

How are HUMANS Adapted? whale

Humans are mammals, too. And we live in many different ecosystems on earth: deserts, tropical rain forests, Arctic regions, mountains, and grasslands.

WHAT YOU NEED paper, colored pencils or crayons

WHAT YOU DO Think about how people might be adapted to living in different places.

What do they wear?

How to they move around?

What do their homes look like?

What kind of food do they eat?

Draw a person (or a family) from one place.

What kind of clothes are they wearing?

How do the kids get to school?

What do they eat for dinner?

Their adaptations will depend on the weather and the environment where they live.

Now, try drawing someone from another ecosystem.

How are they the same as the others? How are they different?

28

cam el

Connections giant a nte ate r

Mammals are warm-blooded animals with a backbone. Most are covered in hair or fur. And most give birth to live young and the young are nursed with their mother’s milk.

There are more than 6,000 different species of mammals.

The giant anteater is the largest of the anteater species—it’s about the size of Labrador retriever. platypus

There are more than 900 different species of bats. They are found everywhere on Earth except in extremely hot or cold climates.

Unlike most mammals, platypuses (and echidnas) lay eggs.

Adult male elephant seals inflate their noses to roar, grunt, snort, and bellow, especially during mating season. These noises can travel several miles.

Pink fairy armadillos have a shell. And Asia’s saber-toothed deer have fangs. Marmots hibernate more than half the year. pin kf air y

credit: Feeding Platypus, Brisbane City Council (CC BY 2.0)

o dill ma ar credit: Attis1979 (CC BY 2.0)

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Glossary adaptation: something about a plant or animal that helps it survive in its habitat.

algae: a simple organism found in water that is like a plant but without roots, stems, or leaves.

armor: a covering that protects the body in battle. camouflage: colors or patterns

tah chee

that animals use to blend in with their environment.

ecosystem: a

community of living and nonliving things and their environments.

environment: the area in which something lives.

habitat: a plant

or animal’s home.

haiku: a short,

simple poem that usually has 17 syllables.

hearing aid:

a small machine that helps ears hear better.

mammal:

a type of animal, such as a human, dog, or cat. Mammals are born live, feed milk to their young, and usually have hair or fur covering most of their skin.

network: a group of things that is connected.

30

bat

prey:

an animal that gets hunted and eaten by another animal.

roost: a place where

birds settle to rest.

snorkel: a short curved tube that a swimmer can breathe through while under water.

species: a group of living things that are closely related and produce young. specimen: a sample of

something, such as a plant or animal.

tentacle: a slender, flexible limb on an animal. torpedo: an oval-shaped underwater missile. warm-blooded:

animals that can keep themselves warm with their own body heat, such as humans, birds, and bears.

venomous: poisonous. elephan ts

CHILDREN’S NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK

focus on science

AGES: 5–9 GUIDED READING LEVEL: TBD

How do whales make their hearing better?

What do lemurs do to make a point during an argument?

In Stink Fights, Earwax, and Other Marvelous Mammal Adaptations, children ages 5 to 9 learn how lemurs settle arguments and how earwax helps a whale’s sense of hearing, along with a host of other deliciously strange-but-true tales! The lively conversational tone and the hilarious descriptions of bizarre adaptations engage a child’s sense of wonder while providing an introduction to a crucial scientific concept. A great choice as both a read aloud and for early readers.

Stink Fights, Earwax, and Other Marvelous Mammal Adaptations, is part of a set of five books in the Picture Book Science series that explore awesome tales of adaptation.

CHECK OUT THE OTHER TITLES IN THIS SERIES!

PUB DATE: August 2020 PB: 9781619309609, $9.95 HC: 9781619309579, $19.95 5 Book Hardcover Set: 9781619309654, $96.95 eBook: all formats available, $6.99 Specs: 9½ x 9½, 32 pages, color interior with illustrations Ages: 5–9 Grade Level: 1–4

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