The weirdest (and coolest) tongues in the animal kingdom - Cella Wright

翻译人员: Gia Hwang

Could it be a succulent, pink, wiggling worm?

难道这是一条软嫩、 扭动的粉色蠕虫吗？

No, it was actually this alligator snapping turtle's

不，其实这是大鳄龟那充血的舌头

blood-engorged tongue appendage acting as a lure.

在充当诱饵呢。

It's far from the only animal doing tongue trickery.

用舌头耍花招的动物可不止它一个。

Fish attracted to prey-like ripples at the water's surface

被水面上猎物般的波纹吸引的鱼类

might find themselves in the jaws of water snakes

可能会发现自己落入水蛇的口中，

who used their tongues to put those ripples there.

而这些波纹正是水蛇用舌头舔出来的。

Snowy egrets do the same thing.

白鹭也会做同样的事情。

And puff adders lingually mimic insect movements to snag amphibians.

鼓腹毒蛇会模仿昆虫动作所发声音 来捕捉两栖动物。

Tongues are getting all kinds of busy across the animal kingdom—

出于各种原因，

动物王国的舌头可大有用武之地。

for many different reasons.

Some are used as murderous missiles in ambush attacks.

有些舌头在伏击中被用作杀人武器。

Within the chameleon's mouth,

变色龙的口腔内，

a tongue muscle squeezes a series of concentric sheaths

舌肌挤压软骨棒周围的一系列同心鞘，

around a cartilaginous rod, storing elastic energy.

以储存弹性能量。

As the muscle further contracts,

随着舌肌的进一步收缩，

the tongue tissues slip over the tip of the rod,

舌头组织会滑过软骨棒的末梢，

releasing their stored energy and accelerating the tongue forward.

释放其储存的能量并加速舌头前移。

With a suction-cup-like-tip and saliva 400 times thicker—

变色龙的舌尖像吸盘 一样，

唾液比我们的要粘稠 400 倍——

and therefore much stickier— than our own,

可比我们的唾液粘稠太多了——

the chameleon's tongue shoots out at almost 5 meters per second

变色龙的舌头以近 5 米/秒的速度射出，

and ensnares its target.

牢牢抓住猎物。

The rosette-nosed pygmy chameleon can shoot its tongue 2.5 times its body length

花冠鼻侏儒变色龙 可将舌头射出其体长 2.5 倍，

at speeds equivalent to a car going from 0 to 96 kilometers per hour

其速度相当于汽车在 10 毫秒内

in a hundredth of a second.

从静止提速到 96 公里/小时，

It might take the cake when it comes to the animal kingdom's fastest tongue—

说到动物界最快的舌头， 桂冠非它莫属，

and the one that stretches the longest relative to body size.

而且相对于体长，它舌头伸得最长，

Except the cake is obviously a bug.

不过，显然“桂冠”是只虫子。

A giant palm salamander's spring-loaded tongue, meanwhile,

巨棕蝾螈的弹簧舌

packs its punch from two long muscles that stretch past its front legs.

则是由两条伸过前腿的长肌肉构成的。

Once contracted, they compress the arms of the cartilaginous skeleton

一旦这两条长肌肉收缩，

就会压迫舌头底部的软骨骨架臂，

at the base of the salamander's tongue,

which then launches out with the rest of its tongue tissues.

并与其余舌组织一起弹出。

From this elastic energy release,

通过这种弹性能量释放，

the salamander achieves more instantaneous power per kilogram of muscle

蝾螈每千克肌肉的瞬间爆发力 比有记录的任何脊椎动物都大，

than any vertebrate on record, affording it whip-quick captures.

因此可以快速捕获猎物。

Certain amphibians have their tongues routed to the front of their mouths.

某些两栖动物的舌头位于嘴前端，

With the drop of its lower jaw,

随着下巴的下垂，

the northern leopard frog's tongue flips out.

北部豹纹蛙的舌头会外翻。

And because frog tongues are super soft— up to 10 times softer than our own—

而且，由于蛙的舌头非常柔软——

比我们的舌头柔软多达 10 倍——

they stretch to cover a wide surface area.

伸展成宽大的舌面。

They're also covered in glands that secrete sticky saliva

舌面还布满了分泌粘性唾液的腺体，

to maximize those areas of contact.

从而最大限度地扩大舌的接触区域。

Then, because the leopard frog's tongue is positioned so far forward,

还有，由于豹纹蛙的舌位置很靠前，

it can retract its eyes to help push the prey down its throat.

它能缩回眼睛帮助将猎物推入喉咙。

Blue-tongued skinks, meanwhile,

与此同时，蓝舌石龙子

seem to display their extraordinary tongues defensively,

貌似为了自卫而展示其非凡的舌头，

dazing predators and robbing their aerial attacks of momentum.

惊呆掠食者而夺取其空中攻击力。

For other animals, it's all about lingual length.

对于其他动物来说， 一切都与舌长有关。

When red-bellied woodpeckers' extended, barbed tongues

当红腹啄木鸟不用伸出带倒刺的舌头

aren't probing for protein-rich comestibles,

寻找富含蛋白质的食物时，

they're wrapped around their skulls.

其舌头会缠绕在头骨上。

And giant anteaters evoke the question,

巨型食蚁兽让人不禁要问：

"why have teeth or a mouth you can open any considerable amount

既然你有一条 60 厘米长、

when you could have a 60-centimeter-long tongue

覆盖着朝后的刺和粘性唾液的舌头，

clad in backward-facing spines and adhesive saliva

每天捕捉多达 3 万只白蚁和蚂蚁，

that catches up to 30,000 termites and ants a day?"

为何还有大量牙齿 或可张开很大的嘴巴？

To which evolution answered, "you actually have a really good point."

进化论回答说， “其实你说得很有道理”。

Tube-lipped nectar bats' food sources are less animated.

管唇蜜蝠的食物来源相对静止些，

But still, to reach bellflower nectar,

但是，为了采到风铃花的花蜜，

their tongues are 50% longer than their bodies—

它们的舌头比身体长 50％，

the longest relative to body size among mammals.

是哺乳动物中相对于体型最长的舌。

Tongue textures also vary widely.

舌头的质地也相差很大，

Tiny structures called papillae cover tongues,

舌面覆盖着称为 "乳突 "的微小结构，

facilitating touch and taste sensitivity and more.

有助于触觉和味觉的敏感性等。

Rainbow lorikeet papillae bloom into feathery projections that sop up nectar.

彩虹吸蜜鹦鹉乳突绽放成 能吸食花蜜的羽毛状突起，

And penguins press their backward-facing, centimeter-long, spiny tongue

企鹅则把布满一厘米长倒刺的舌头 和上颚乳突挤压在一起，

and palate papillae together to secure their slippery catch

以固定滑溜溜的捕获物，

and direct it into their gullet.

并将其送入咽喉。

Meanwhile, sandpapery feline papillae are thought to retain saliva

而砂质猫科动物舌乳突被认为

可以在自我梳理时保留唾液，

during self-grooming,

helping cats cool, detangle, and distribute scents.

帮助猫咪降温、梳毛和散发气味。

And, of course, some reptilian tongues reach a fork in their roads.

当然，一些爬行动物的舌末会分叉。

Snakes spread their tongue tips apart near the ground

蛇在近地面处将舌分叉打开，

and whip them up and down in the air,

并在空中上下摆动，

sending odor molecules back into their vomeronasal organs.

以将气味分子送回鼻绒毛器官。

Like having two ears, each tongue tip delivers a slightly different

像两只耳朵一样，

每个舌尖从环境中 采集的气味样本略有不同，

odor sampling from the environment,

helping establish a more comprehensive stereo scent map.

有助于建立更全面的立体气味地图。

This way, snakes can determine where an odor cue is strongest

这样，蛇能确定何处气味线索最强，

and stay on the trails of prey and mates.

并跟踪猎物和配偶。

And that is just a taste of the fascinating things you'll find

这只是动物王国张开嘴、 对你伸出舌头时

when the animal kingdom opens wide and sticks its tongue out at you.

你会发现的迷人之处的一部分。