Abstract: Torpor (including hibernation, estivation, and daily torpor)in mammals is one of the most attractive physiological phenomena in life science. Some mammal species use torpor to survive harsh environments such as cold, food shortage and drought. Physiological and/ or ecological research into torpor of mammals has potential implications in biomedicine in situations such as trauma treatment, organ transplantation and spaceflight. This review briefly introduces several aspects of torpor in mammals:1) Types of torpor in mammals according to the season and duration of mammalian torpor, the source and storage form of the fuel used in torpor, and the signals initiating torpor. 2) The systematic distribution of the mammal species utilized torpors. 3)The general properties in body temperature and metabolic rate which occurr in hibernation and hibernation bouts of mammals in temperate and arctic zone, and in the tropics where the diurnal hibernacula temperatures fluctuate acutely. We also introduce the patterns of other kinds of torpor, such as daily torpor.

Key words: Aestivation, Daily torpor, Hibernation, Pattern, Torpor

摘要： 哺乳动物的蛰眠(包括冬眠、夏眠和日蛰眠等)是最具吸引力的生命现象之一,是动物应对寒冷、食物
短缺、干旱等不良环境条件的适应策略之一。冬眠生理学(生态学) 研究具有重要的理论和实际意义。国际学
术界在该领域发展比较迅速,国内发展相对缓慢。本文从哺乳动物蛰眠的季节和持续时间、蛰眠期间所利用能
量的来源和贮存方式、启动蛰眠的信号来源等方面综述了哺乳动物蛰眠的类型;介绍了蛰眠的哺乳动物物种的
系统学分布;并对温带或北极动物的冬眠和冬眠阵及其各阶段的体温和代谢率变化特征、日温剧烈波动环境下
的冬眠特征以及日眠和日眠阵等方面进行了概括介绍,以期能促进国内相关领域的发展。

关键词: 蛰眠, 冬眠, 日蛰眠, 夏眠, 模式