How long are chameleons tongues

Travel 5 pandemic tech innovations that will change travel forever These digital innovations will make your next trip safer and more efficient.

But will they invade your privacy? Go Further. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs.

Meet the people trying to help. Animals Whales eat three times more than previously thought. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem.

Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. History Magazine These 3,year-old giants watched over the cemeteries of Sardinia.

The lizard can shoot its tongue out 2. The fact that the speediest chameleon tongue belongs to a tiny member of the group actually makes sense. The muscles that power the tongue are comparatively larger on the small body of the pygmy chameleon. This helps him snag unsuspecting insects from so far away that they never see him coming.

Reaching prey from afar isn't very helpful unless you have some way to retrieve it. This is where a chameleon's sticky saliva comes in.

It coats the thick end of the tongue so when the tongue touches a bug, the bug is immediately stuck. When the tongue curls back into the chameleon's mouth, the insect gets dragged in there as well before it can wiggle free. The most impressive feature of a chameleon's tongue is how fast it shoots out of his mouth.

Lubricated cavities between the muscles and the bone reduce friction so the tongue can fly with greater speed. The effect is the same as squeezing a watermelon seed to make it fly, except in this case the seed remains stationary and the sqeezer is propelled into space. The tip of the tongue resembles a club.