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It’s one of the most important organs in a tetrapod’s body, crucially important for feeding, communicating, and more. This episode, we explore the diversity and deep history of Tongues.
In the news
Patterns in dinosaur evolution influenced by climate events and endothermy
Ediacaran organisms lived during a particular weak period for the Earth’s magnetic field
Chemical insights into lake conditions on ancient Mars
Fossil of a regenerating sea star might hint at ancient splitting reproduction
Just a Taste
A tongue is a mobile and flexible organ in the mouth, composed of several different muscles and supported by a bony structure called the hyoid. Generally speaking, tongues are a tetrapod feature, found among amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, although tongue-like structures are known from many other species, including the rasping radula of mollusks and the tongue-like piston of lampreys.
Top middle: Giraffe tongue. Image by Irina Polikanova, CC BY-SA 3.0
Top right: Hummingbird tongue. Image by John Flannery, CC BY-SA 2.0
Bottom left: Chameleon tongue. Image by Mkrc85, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bottom middle: Anteater tongue. Image by Ellen, CC BY 2.0
Bottom right: Human tongue. Image by Mahdiabbasinv, CC BY-SA 4.0
Tetrapod tongues come in a variety of shapes for a variety of functions. In us humans, tongues are important for tasting food, as well as moving food around the mouth during chewing and swallowing, and the tongue is also a critical part of human speech. In other animals, tongues are used for sensing the environment (like snakes), luring prey (like snapping turtles), or for capturing food. Some of the very longest tongues in the world are prey-capture tools, such as those in chameleons, woodpeckers, and anteaters.
Top: Hyoid apparatus of a leopard gecko. Image by Mokele, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bottom: A variety of bird hyoids. Image by Sandstein, CC BY 3.0
True tongues seem to have evolved around the time that tetrapods took to the land, most likely an important organ for feeding in open air. Tongues generally don’t fossilize, but hyoid bones are known for many extinct species, and they can provide clues to the functions of ancient tongues. Several species of dinosaurs and pterosaurs have been found with complex hyoid structures that suggest they had a mobile tongue for some complex feeding function.
Learn More
Deep Look – Why Does Your Cat’s Tongue Feel Like Sandpaper?
Deep Look – The Twisted Truth About Snake Tongues
Deep Look – What Makes This Frog’s Tongue So Fast AND Sticky?
SciShow – 7 Strange Animal Tongues You Have to See to Believe
BBC Studios – Salamander Tongue (and other fast animals)
True Facts: Snake and Lizard Tongues (Note: some mature humor)
True Facts: The Hummingbird (Note: some mature humor)
Evolution of the structure and function of the vertebrate tongue (technical, open access)
Evolution of the human tongue and emergence of speech biomechanics (technical, open access)
Some fossil tongue studies:
Scientists Find the World’s Oldest Chameleon-Like Tongue Preserved in Amber (and the paper)
Dinosaurs Couldn’t Stick Out Theirs Tongues, New Study Shows (and the paper)
Researchers find fossil of extinct early bird that could stick out its tongue (and the paper)
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