Natural Phenomena

Estivation

Also Known As Aestivation

Citation Formats

General Reference

Nature Atlas. "Estivation." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/natural-phenomena/estivation.

APA Style

Nature Atlas. (n.d.). Estivation. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/natural-phenomena/estivation

BibTeX

@misc{natureatlas-estivation,
  author = {Nature Atlas},
  title = {Estivation},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/natural-phenomena/estivation},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Estivation is a state of dormancy similar to hibernation but entered during summer heat and drought rather than winter cold, marked by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate. Land snails, lungfish, desert tortoises and some frogs and lemurs estivate, and unlike deeper dormant states the animal's physiology can be reversed quickly once conditions improve.

Facts

Periodicity

Seasonal; entered during summer heat or drought and rapidly reversed once conditions improve 1

First Described

Homer W. Smith, Nicolette Farinacci and Adolph Breitwieser published the foundational physiological study of lungfish aestivation in 1930 (Metabolism of the Lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus, Journal of Biological Chemistry), establishing that lungfish accumulate urea rather than the more toxic ammonia while dormant in dry-season mud cocoons, a finding still cited as the field's starting reference. 2

Cross-Tradition Connections