Non-human Tongues
Most vertebrate animals have tongues. In mammals such as dogs and cats, the tongue is often used to clean the fur and body. The tongues of these species have a very rough texture which allows them to remove oils and parasites. A dog's tongue also acts as a heat regulator. As a dog increases its exercise the tongue will increase in size due to greater blood flow. The tongue hangs out of the dog's mouth and the moisture on the tongue will work to cool the bloodflow.
Some animals have tongues that are specially adapted for catching prey. For example, chameleons, frogs, and anteaters have prehensile tongues.
Many species of fish have small folds at the base of their mouths that might informally be called tongues, but they lack a muscular structure like the true tongues found in most tetrapods.
Other animals may have organs that are analogous to tongues, such as a butterfly's proboscis or a radula on a mollusc, but these are not homologous with the tongues found in vertebrates, and often have little resemblance in function, for example, butterflies do not lick with their proboscides; they suck thorough them, and the proboscis is not a single organ, but two jaws held together to form a tube.
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Famous quotes containing the words non-human and/or tongues:
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—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Sir Toby Belch. Pourquoi, my dear knight?
Sir Andrew Aguecheek. What is “pourquoi?” Do, or not do? I would I had bestowed that time in the tongues that I have in fencing, dancing, and bear-baiting. O had I but followed the arts!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)