Question: What animal can survive in the highest temperatures, how high of a temperature?

Asked by pnemonoultramicroscopicsillicovolcanoconiosis to Dustin, James, Steven on 23 May 2012.

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  1. Photo: Dustin WelbourneDustin Welbourne
    answered on 23 May 2012:

    Hi pnemono,

    I am pretty sure the animal with the highest thermal tolerance is the Pompeii worm, Alvinella pompejana.

    They live on hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean and have been seen to have their tail end in water of 80 degrees Celsius.

    However, if we go to a hyperthermophile such as Methanopyrus kandleri, a type of Archaea (single celled organism) that also lives in hydrothermal vents, they have been tested to be able to survive and reproduce at temperatures of 120 degrees C.

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  2. Photo: James ByrneJames Byrne
    answered on 23 May 2012:

    Actually there are bacterial species recovered from much higher temps and pressures in hydrothermal vent but also inside the lips of volcanoes but they are not technically animals. The Pompeii worm is probably the closest thing to an animal that can tolerate that temp range.

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Comments

  1. Photo: pnemonoultramicroscopicsillicovolcanoconiosispnemonoultramicroscopicsillicovolcanoconiosis
    commented on 23 May 2012:

    did you mean “single” celled organism

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