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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: SF Huang

Could it be a succulent, pink, wiggling worm?

這會是一條多汁、 粉紅色、蠕動的蟲嗎？

No, it was actually this alligator snapping turtle's

不，這其實是大鱷龜 充血的舌頭上的附屬肢體，

blood-engorged tongue appendage acting as a lure.

用來當作誘餌。

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

會用舌頭耍花招的動物 遠不只這一種。

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

被水面上看似獵物的漣漪 所吸引的魚類

might find themselves in the jaws of water snakes

可能最後會落到水蛇的嘴裡，

who used their tongues to put those ripples there.

水蛇會用舌頭在水面製造漣漪。

Snowy egrets do the same thing.

雪鷺也會做同樣的事情。

And puff adders lingually mimic insect movements to snag amphibians.

而鼓腹毒蛇會用舌頭模仿 昆蟲的動作以捕捉兩棲動物，

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

在動物王國，舌頭 要忙著做各式各樣的事——

for many different reasons.

理由也各有不同。

Some are used as murderous missiles in ambush attacks.

有些舌頭在埋伏攻擊時 會被當成致命的飛彈來使用，

Within the chameleon's mouth,

在變色龍的嘴裡，

a tongue muscle squeezes a series of concentric sheaths

舌頭肌肉會擠壓軟骨棒 周圍的一連串同心鞘，

around a cartilaginous rod, storing elastic energy.

以儲存彈性能量。

As the muscle further contracts,

隨著肌肉進一步收縮，

the tongue tissues slip over the tip of the rod,

舌頭組織會滑過軟骨棒的尖端，

releasing their stored energy and accelerating the tongue forward.

釋放儲存的能量， 並讓舌頭向前加速。

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

有像是吸盤的末端

以及比人類濃稠四百倍—— 因此黏度也是四百倍——的唾液，

and therefore much stickier— than our own,

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

變色龍舌頭射出的速度 接近每秒鐘五公尺，

and ensnares its target.

用以捕捉牠的目標。

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

玫瑰花鼻變色龍的舌頭射出距離 可達其身長的二點五倍，

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

速度相當於汽車在百分之一秒內

從零加速到每小時九十六公里。

in a hundredth of a second.

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

牠可能可以拔得頭籌，成為 動物王國中舌頭最快的動物——

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

相對於體長，舌頭的 伸長長度也能拔得頭籌。

Except the cake is obviously a bug.

只不過牠的頭籌是蟲子。

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

至於巨掌蝾螈像彈簧一樣的舌頭

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

發力所靠的是兩條 延伸過前腿的長肌肉。

Once contracted, they compress the arms of the cartilaginous skeleton

一旦收縮後，這些肌肉 會壓縮軟骨骨架的分支，

at the base of the salamander's tongue,

其位置是在蠑螈舌頭的基部，

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

接著會和舌頭的其他組織 一起發射出去。

From this elastic energy release,

靠這種彈性能量釋放，

the salamander achieves more instantaneous power per kilogram of muscle

蠑螈每公斤肌肉所能達到的瞬間動力

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

勝過記錄中的所有脊椎動物， 讓牠能夠快速捕捉獵物。

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

某些兩棲類動物的舌頭位於嘴的前側。

With the drop of its lower jaw,

把下顎放下來時，

the northern leopard frog's tongue flips out.

豹蛙的舌頭機可以翻出來，

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

且因為豹蛙的舌頭超級軟——

比人類的舌頭軟十倍——

they stretch to cover a wide surface area.

能夠延展開來，形成很大的面積。

They're also covered in glands that secrete sticky saliva

舌頭上也滿佈腺體， 能分泌很黏的唾液，

to maximize those areas of contact.

將接觸面積最大化。

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

接著，由於豹蛙的舌頭 位置在這麼前面，

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

牠可以縮回眼睛， 協助將獵物推下喉嚨。

Blue-tongued skinks, meanwhile,

至於藍舌蜥，

seem to display their extraordinary tongues defensively,

似乎會為了防禦而展示出 牠們不凡的舌頭。

dazing predators and robbing their aerial attacks of momentum.

讓捕食者眼花， 喪失其空中攻擊的動力。

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

對於其他動物而言， 重點則是舌頭長度。

When red-bellied woodpeckers' extended, barbed tongues

當紅腹啄木鳥帶刺的延展式舌頭

aren't probing for protein-rich comestibles,

沒有用來尋找富含蛋白質的食物時，

they're wrapped around their skulls.

就是繞在牠們的頭骨上，

And giant anteaters evoke the question,

大食蟻獸則引發了這個問題：

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

「為什麼需要有牙齒 或可以大大打開的嘴巴，

when you could have a 60-centimeter-long tongue

明明你就有六十公分長的舌頭， 上面長滿向後彎的刺，

clad in backward-facing spines and adhesive saliva

還有黏性唾液，

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

一天可以捕捉高達 三萬隻白蟻和螞蟻？」

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

演化的回答的： 「你說的其實很有道理。」

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

管唇花蝠的食物來源比較不活躍。

But still, to reach bellflower nectar,

但仍為了能觸及桔梗花的花蜜，

their tongues are 50% longer than their bodies—

牠們的舌頭比身長還要長 50%——

the longest relative to body size among mammals.

在哺乳類動物中，舌頭 相對身長的比例是最長的。

Tongue textures also vary widely.

舌頭的質地也各式各樣。

Tiny structures called papillae cover tongues,

舌頭上覆蓋著乳突狀的微型結構，

facilitating touch and taste sensitivity and more.

讓觸覺和味覺能更敏銳， 還有其他更多用處。

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

彩虹鸚鵡的舌乳突會展開成 羽毛狀的凸起，吸收花蜜。

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

企鵝會將牠們向後彎曲、 一公分長、帶刺的舌頭

and palate papillae together to secure their slippery catch

和顎頂乳突緊密壓合在一起， 以固定滑溜的獵物，

and direct it into their gullet.

並將之送入食道。

Meanwhile, sandpapery feline papillae are thought to retain saliva

至於貓科動物，一般認為 牠們粗糙的舌乳突

能在自我梳理時保留唾液，

during self-grooming,

helping cats cool, detangle, and distribute scents.

協助貓冷卻、梳毛和散播氣味。

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

當然，有些爬蟲類 動物的舌頭有分叉。

Snakes spread their tongue tips apart near the ground

蛇在接近地面時會分開舌尖，

and whip them up and down in the air,

在空中上下擺動舌頭，

sending odor molecules back into their vomeronasal organs.

將氣味分子發送回牠們的 輔助嗅覺感覺器官。

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

就像擁有兩個耳朵一樣，每個舌尖

能從環境中取樣的氣味略有不同，

odor sampling from the environment,

helping establish a more comprehensive stereo scent map.

有助於建立更全面性的立體氣味地圖。

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

用這種方式，蛇就能判斷 氣味提示最強的地方在哪裡

and stay on the trails of prey and mates.

並持續追蹤獵物和配偶。

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

以上這些只是開胃菜而已， 當動物王國張大嘴巴

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

向你伸出舌頭時，還會有更多 酷炫的奇觀等著你去發現。