A new research has unveiled that a certain pygmy chameleons actually
have the most powerful tongues. The tiniest chameleons can shoot their
tongues out around 2. 5 times their body length to capture preys like
cricket or morsel, unveiled the research paper published in the journal
Scientific Reports.
Chameleons not only have long tongues, but they are speedy too. Their tongue can accelerate at a rate of up to 264 times the acceleration of gravity. Study researchers have said that the chameleon does need more than 20 milliseconds to grab its prey.
In the study, the researchers have also measured the power output of the chameleon tongues, which was found to be ranging from 1,410 watts per kilogram up to 14,040 watts per kilogram. Study’s lead researcher Christopher V. Anderson said, “In fact, the acceleration and the power output we determined to be the highest acceleration and power output for any movement that's been reported among amniotes”.
Smaller animals need to consume more food than large animals because
of how metabolism scales with body size. Dr. Anderson said that the
lengthening muscle in the chameleon's tongue stretches the elastic
tissues. As the tongue muscle lengthens, it moves over the tapered tip
of the tongue skeleton. This shoots the tongue muscle out toward the
prey and let the muscle to recoil, which happens in milliseconds.
CS Monitor reported that, scientists have long known about the color-changing animals' tricky prey capture. But new research reveals that the tiniest chameleons actually have the most powerful tongues.
Chameleons as small as about 1.5 inches long can shoot their tongues out some 2.5 times their body length to capture a cricket or other tasty morsel, according to a study published Monday in the journal Scientific Reports. That's farther than the previously thought maximum of twice the animal's body length.
HuffingtonPost report said, research shows that a chameleon's secret weapon is its ability to "pre-load" large amounts of energy into the tongue's elastic tissue, and this stored energy augments the muscle power used to fling the tongue. And while all chameleons have the same catapult-like apparatus for launching the tongue, smaller chameleons have ones that are larger proportional to their size.
“Smaller species have higher performance than larger species,” Anderson said in a statement.
According to the LA Times, if you’re an unwary fly, here’s a tongue-lashing you won’t see coming. A study of chameleons’ stretchy tongues has found that smaller species, some the size of your thumb, can hurl their sticky lickers with blazing-fast accelerations – up to 264 times the force of gravity.
That, for the record, is roughly five times as fast as larger-bodied chameleons. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, sheds light on how these animals seem to surpass the limitations of their muscle cells – and why they might need to be so speedy.
Chameleons not only have long tongues, but they are speedy too. Their tongue can accelerate at a rate of up to 264 times the acceleration of gravity. Study researchers have said that the chameleon does need more than 20 milliseconds to grab its prey.
In the study, the researchers have also measured the power output of the chameleon tongues, which was found to be ranging from 1,410 watts per kilogram up to 14,040 watts per kilogram. Study’s lead researcher Christopher V. Anderson said, “In fact, the acceleration and the power output we determined to be the highest acceleration and power output for any movement that's been reported among amniotes”.
It is the first research, which has focused on small chameleon
species. Earlier researches have studied larger chameleon species. Dr.
Anderson affirmed that there are 203 species of chameleon and a lot of
them are quite small.
By studying the smaller chameleons, the researchers said that they
have underestimated the capability of chameleons as a group. The
researchers have studied 20 different species on the basis of their
different body sizes.
Dr. Anderson said that the 1.85 inches long chameleon was found to
have projected its tongue 2.5 times that length. The researchers think
that it could due to their metabolism that chameleons perform so well.
CS Monitor reported that, scientists have long known about the color-changing animals' tricky prey capture. But new research reveals that the tiniest chameleons actually have the most powerful tongues.
Chameleons as small as about 1.5 inches long can shoot their tongues out some 2.5 times their body length to capture a cricket or other tasty morsel, according to a study published Monday in the journal Scientific Reports. That's farther than the previously thought maximum of twice the animal's body length.
HuffingtonPost report said, research shows that a chameleon's secret weapon is its ability to "pre-load" large amounts of energy into the tongue's elastic tissue, and this stored energy augments the muscle power used to fling the tongue. And while all chameleons have the same catapult-like apparatus for launching the tongue, smaller chameleons have ones that are larger proportional to their size.
“Smaller species have higher performance than larger species,” Anderson said in a statement.
According to the LA Times, if you’re an unwary fly, here’s a tongue-lashing you won’t see coming. A study of chameleons’ stretchy tongues has found that smaller species, some the size of your thumb, can hurl their sticky lickers with blazing-fast accelerations – up to 264 times the force of gravity.
That, for the record, is roughly five times as fast as larger-bodied chameleons. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, sheds light on how these animals seem to surpass the limitations of their muscle cells – and why they might need to be so speedy.
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