Although chameleons are known for their unique tongues that can extend fast and far, a new study by a Brown University researcher examines this unique ability even further and reveals that the smallest chameleons produce the strongest tongue lashings - their tongues can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just a hundredth of a second and can capture their prey in just 20 milliseconds.
"Smaller species have higher performance than larger species," Chris Anderson, who conducted the research, said in a press release.
The study discovered that the motion of the smallest chameleons' tongues produce the highest levels of acceleration and power output per kilogram of muscle mass by any bird, reptile or mammal and is the second most powerful motion in any kind of vertebrate, second only to the salamander.
Anderson examined the Rhampholeon spinosus in particular, which allowed him to get a better understanding of how chameleon tongues work. He found that instead of just using spontaneous muscle power to extend their tongues, they actually pre-load most of the total energy of the motion into their elastic tissues, meaning the motion relies mostly on the recoil created by these tissues.
The most interesting finding of the study came when Anderson noticed that the smaller the chameleon, the higher the levels of peak acceleration, tongue extension distance and relative power. Although larger chameleons still created impressive tongue motions, the results of the analysis and measurements showed that they could never compare to their smaller counterparts.
Anderson believes that tiny chameleons evolved with better tongues due to the fact that they need more energy per body weight in order to survive. Due to this, he believes that further research on these small chameleons and their physical performance will help us understand peak performance values of the species and build on previous studies that focused more on lower peak values.
"What this study shows is that by using smaller species, we may be able to elucidate these high performance values," he said.
The findings were published in the Jan. 4 issue of Scientific Reports.
Take a look of the chameleon's tongue in action below:
