The Truth About Tongues Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chameleon

The tongue of the chameleon is known to be one of the fastest tongues in the world. It is capable of catching up to four flies in as little as four seconds. The tongue has a sticky mucus lined bulb at the end of the tongue for making its prey stick. The tongue remains folded inside the chameleon's oral cavity when not used.

A chameleon's diet would include spiders, flies and other insects. Sometimes it uses its long tongue to catch small rodents and birds too!

Answer: Blue whale

Blue whale tongues are so large that they can weigh upwards of two tonnes. Yes! That's how big they are. Although most blue whales eat only plankton or krill, they have a tongue as large as the one shown in the picture, which is actually that of a gray whale. The tongue plays an important role in pushing out the extra water sucked in while feeding on tiny plankton.

Answer: Giant arapaima

The giant arapaima is a freshwater fish and one of the largest ones at that. It belongs to the order Osteoglossiformes, which translates as 'bony tongues'. It is widely found in the Amazon basin in South America. This fish can reach up to a size of around seven feet. This fish is carnivorous and eats other small fishes and animals, if caught by it.

Answer: Tongue eating louse

It belongs to the family Cymothoidae and is a parasite that is usually found on the tongue of its host. This parasite can grow up to 30 millimetres in length. This creature stays in the fish's oral cavity replacing the tongue, which it destroys by cutting off the blood supply. It feeds on the fish's tongue or mucus and the fish can use it as a tongue.

Answer: Alligator snapping turtle

Macrochelys temminckii is its scientific name. It is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world. Its name is reflective of its characteristics. It has skin that resembles that of an alligator. Its jaws are very powerful and catches prey by luring them with its tongue that resembles worms and then snapping its jaws shut when prey gets close.

This turtle is found commonly in the waters around the United States, mainly in the southeast. It can live for more than ten years and is mainly carnivorous.

Answer: Snake

One of the main functions of a snake's forked tongue is smell. The forked tongue has receptors which are a part of a very sophisticated sensory system in a snake. These receptors pick up chemicals from the atmosphere around the snake. The fork in the tongue helps in identifying the direction from which the smell comes.

The vomeronasal organ, or the Jacobson's organ, also forms a part of the olfactory system in a snake. These organs can also sense pheromones from other snakes.

Answer: Pangolin

These creatures have long, tube like tongues to search for insects inside trunks of trees or underground. Pangolins can extend their tongues for as long as 20 inches. Their tongues, unlike most other animals, don't have an attachment to the hyoid bone but deeper in the thorax, next to the sternum (chest bone). Pangolins let out a chemical that smells bad when threatened just like a skunk. Pangolins have scales made of keratin and this is unique to these animals.

Answer: Giant palm salamander

This salamander is found widely in Central America. It uses an enormous amount of power to propel its tongue out of its mouth. The speed and accuracy displayed by this creature in catching bugs moving at high speeds is unparalleled in the animal kingdom. This amphibian have a varied diet which predominantly includes insects. Salamanders belong to order Urodela.

Answer: Woodpecker

Woodpeckers, as their name suggests, do a lot of, well, wood pecking. They are capable of hammering at wood for a really long time without sustaining injury or damage to their heads. They have special adaptations for this one of which is a really long tongue.

They store this tongue in a pathway that leads from their mouth to the back of their skull to the top of their heads to some the region of the nostrils. Woodpeckers eat insects and ants by probing their long tongue into crevices, trunks of trees and anthills. Woodpeckers' mandibles allow for certain adaptations and postural changes to the hyoid bone that prevents them sustaining head injuries.

Answer: Okapi

The okapi's scientific name is Okapis johnstoni. They are mostly found in central African regions like Congo. Okapis' tongues are long and can stretch up to 20 inches in length. They use these long tongues to wash their eyes and ears. Just like giraffes, they can use these tongues to pluck leaves off from trees and are thus prehensile, which means they are able to grasp with their tongues. Okapis are usually dark brown in colour with stripes on the upper part of their legs.