Chameleon Tongues?

[Hakai]

So I've read some places that their tongues are sticky and I've read other places that their tongues just appear to be sticky because they use a series of muscles that help them to latch on to their prey. Which is it? Could it be a combination of both?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

They have ridges on the end of their tongue that help latch on to prey, but it is also sticky based on my experiences of accidentally getting zapped!

 

[SaintJimmy]

Yeah sometimes my veiled barely misses and I can feel the sticky pad on his tongue.

 

[nightanole]

A cham tongue mech is more like when you put your hand in a pool with the cover on. The cover wraps around your hand, and you cant pull it out if some one is holding the bottom of the pool cover due to the vacuum.

So a cham shoots out its tongue, it envelopes the target, then a small set of muscles pulls the center of the "tongue bag" back like you would pull a sling shot back. This creates the vacuum effect which allows the cham to catch much heavier prey than the sticky tongue part. Infact if you disconnect the tongue tip muscles nerve, the cham cant even catch a small fly. In other news the cham tongue sticky section is the same type as a beardy or iguana.

 

[Alexl]

There are some great papers and documents on the www to read about this topic if your'e interested in. A lot of studies were done yet about chameleons' tongues and their mechanism, even from some forum members. Some examples that come to my mind first:
- 2000: Herrel et al - Mechanics of prey prehension in chameleons
- 2012: Anderson, Sheridan, Deban - Scaling of the ballistic tongue apparatus in chameleons
- 2004: De Groot, van Leeuwen - Evidence for an elastic projection mechanism in the chameleon tongue
- 1992: Wainwright, Bennett - The mechanism of tongue projection in chameleons

 

[dlegare]

So I've read some places that their tongues are sticky and I've read other places that their tongues just appear to be sticky because they use a series of muscles that help them to latch on to their prey. Which is it? Could it be a combination of both?

Trust me it's sticky. It's also designed like a sort of suction cup so as to better hold onto the prey item.

I know this first hand because my male panther shot an insect I was holding and got my thumb instead.

Only time I've ever been bitten. Much to the dismay of my female cham. She's plotting my death...

LOL

 

[Hakai]

Thanks for all your replies. Interesting stuff.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Prehension of prey items by the tongue occurs via a combination of three forces. First, there is mechanical interlocking of the prey as the tongue pad envelopes around the prey item. Second, there is wet adhesion as the mucosal secretion from the tongue contacts the prey item. Finally, there is a suction component as the pouch retractor muscle pulls the center of the tongue pad away from the prey item (if you put a suction cup against a window and pull the center, where there is often a handle of some type, away from the window you similarly get a section effect due to the negative pressure). Interestingly, over two thirds of the force the tongue produces to hold onto a prey item is actually the result of the suction mechanism. Not only does the pouch retractor muscle create negative pressure, but it causes further interaction between the tongue pad and prey item, thus increasing both of the first two prehension mechanisms I outlined.

Chris

 

[KatCham]

Wow, chris that answer is fantastic!

To think all that happens in a split second!!!

Fascinating!

 

[Trace]

Prehension of prey items by the tongue occurs via a combination of three forces. First, there is mechanical interlocking of the prey as the tongue pad envelopes around the prey item. Second, there is wet adhesion as the mucosal secretion from the tongue contacts the prey item. Finally, there is a suction component as the pouch retractor muscle pulls the center of the tongue pad away from the prey item (if you put a suction cup against a window and pull the center, where there is often a handle of some type, away from the window you similarly get a section effect due to the negative pressure). Interestingly, over two thirds of the force the tongue produces to hold onto a prey item is actually the result of the suction mechanism. Not only does the pouch retractor muscle create negative pressure, but it causes further interaction between the tongue pad and prey item, thus increasing both of the first two prehension mechanisms I outlined.

Chris

Nerd.

 

[Decadancin]

Wow, chris that answer is fantastic!

To think all that happens in a split second!!!

Fascinating!

I know, Not sure how he types so fast!