Extraordinary Animal Tongues With Surprising Features

Hummingbirds

It was previously thought that these birds pulled up flower nectar through their tongues using capillary action,  i.e. fluids would flow through narrow channels, even against gravity.

Giant anteaters

A 23.5-inch (about 60 cm) tongue allows a giant anteater to feast on up to 30,000 ants and termites a day!

Chameleons

Chameleons are known for both their ability to change color and their fast, 20-inch-long (50 cm) tongues, which they use to catch insects.

Sun bears

Sun bears have really long tongues, which can measure up to 10 inches (25 cm).

Frogs

Frogs are famous for their lightning-fast tongues. But not only are their tongues fast, they are also very strong, being able to pull objects about 1.4 times the frog's body weight!

Giraffes

Giraffes' 21-inch-long (53 cm) tongues are dark, with hues of purple, blue, and black.

Emperor tamarins

Owners of one of the most impressive mustaches in the animal kingdom, these primates are also known for flicking their tongues in and out of their mouths to communicate.

Parrots

These birds must have pretty amazing tongues. After all, they can mimic human speech, right? They do so by adjusting their tongue so that it modulates the sound coming from their voice box.

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