A short-term state of reduced physiological activity characterized by lower body temperature and metabolic rate. Unlike hibernation, torpor typically lasts hours to days rather than months.
From Latin 'torpor' meaning numbness or sluggishness, related to 'torpere' meaning to be stiff or numb. The word originally described any state of inactivity but gained specific biological meaning in the 19th century.
Hummingbirds enter torpor every night, dropping their metabolic rate by 95% - without this, they would starve to death before morning! Some bats can enter torpor so deep that they appear dead and can be handled without waking.
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