Burrow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the animals. Burrows are also commonly preserved in the fossil record as a type of trace fossil.
A wide variety of animals construct or use burrows in many different types of substrate. Mammals are perhaps most well-known for burrowing, especially Insectivora like the voracious mole, and rodents like the prolific gopher and groundhog. The rabbit, a member of the family Lagomorpha, is a well-known burrower. There are estimations that a single groundhog burrow occupies a full cubic meter, displacing 320 kilograms of dirt. Even Carnivora like the meerkat and Marsupials like the kangaroo mouse are burrowers.
Other examples of burrowing animals include a number of fish, amphibians, reptiles (including small dinosaurs[1]), and birds, as well as numerous invertebrates including insects, spiders, sea urchins, clams and worms.
Burrows can be constructed into a wide variety of substrates. Kangaroo mice construct burrows in fine sand. Termites construct burrows in wood. Some sea urchins and clams can burrow into rock. Burrows can also range in complexity from a simple tube a few centimeters long to a complex network of interconnecting tunnels and chambers hundreds or thousands of meters in total length, such as a well-developed rabbit warren.
[edit] References
- ^ Varricchio, David J.; Martin, Anthony J.; and Katsura, Yoshihiro (2007). "First trace and body fossil evidence of a burrowing, denning dinosaur". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 274: 1361–1368. doi:.
