We'll be publishing interesting questions that come up when we visit classes... sometimes we might even provide an answer! Here's our first installment, asked by Saatva, and Cayuga Heights Elementary.
Do Fish Yawn?
This is a surprisingly
complex question, because we don’t actually know quite how to define a “yawn”. And that's because we don’t actually know what “yawning” does.
The most convincing
theory currently (many have been disproven over the years) is that yawning
serves to cool down the mammalian brain, which fatigues as it warms up. If that
is the case, than it is unlikely to benefit fish since, as "ectotherms" - cold
blooded animals - their body temperature is controlled by their
environment anyway. SO, if that sounds right to you, than the answer would be, "No, fish do not yawn." BUT, if you
are not convinced that yawning cools your brain, and there must be some other
explanation… than maybe they do! Here are some cool pix to help you consider...
(Shout out to www.thenakedscientists.com for great take on this subject.)
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