The animal that stows its tongue in its rib cage

Reseachers say that bats have extremely long tongue stowed in its rib cage.

Muchhala, of the University of Miami, Coral Gables, taught the nectar bat Anoura fistulata to drink from a modified straw to measure its 85 millimeter (3.4 inch) tongue, which is 1.5 times longer than its body.

The bat, which stows its lengthy tongue in its rib cage, pollinates a plant with tubes of the same length. Muchhala suggests the extreme length of the bat's tongue co-evolved with the long flowers of the plant.

Link & Image: Reuters
Tags: Bat | Mammal | Tongue