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Context

In one of my stories I am having a villain try to bring back the beauty of the giant arthropods in the Carboniferous period by genetically engineering his own personal, mega-pseudo-arthropods. And one of these creatures is an arthropleura on steroids.

So this creature is about 26 feet tall, 78 feet wide, and 2 miles long. I have some other ideas in how the creature will support its weight by using plastic tendons attached with bacterial glue. Also there are other adaptations to help it survive at its size(tracheal sacks, closed circulatory system, molting in the ocean, etc) but i have one question...

Question

What kind of adaptations or engineered systems could this creature use so that the sheer mitochondrial density of something this big doesn't cook it from the inside out?

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1 Answer 1

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Using some form of natural radiator would be your best bet. If the creature had (perhaps foldable) 'wings' designed to increase surface area to dissipate heat (similar to a massive radiator), with blood vessels running close to the surface in them to disperse heat (since you stipulated a closed circulator system). Sweating would be another option, though a 2 mile long creature may have issues with water replacement if it can sweat. Some combination of the 2, with a low-water wick-effect over a large damp surface instead of perspiration beads or radiation based heat removal may be workable.

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