zsl-edge-of-existence: The tongue of the echidna is quite a remarkable organ.  This tongue can

zsl-edge-of-existence:The tongue of the echidna is quite a remarkable organ.  This tongue can be stiffened through rapid blood flow, and is strong enough to penetrate dense soil, or even rotting wood.  A sticky mucous turns the tongue’s surface into a kind of natural flypaper, trapping insects which are then drawn back into the echidna’s mouth and ground against backwards-pointing keratinous “teeth”.  The echidna’s tongue also moves at great speed, able to move in and out of the snout over 100 times per minute, and is flexible enough to go around U-shaped bends and twisting tunnels in the ant/termite nest.  The tongues of long-beaked echidnas are also studded with tiny spines to help snag prey.  Finally, though the tongue can penetrate wood, it seems remarkably resistant to getting splinters, though no one is quite sure why. -- source link
Tumblr Blog : zsl-edge-of-existence.tumblr.com

More pics about