Capital Wired

Keeps You Updated

Thursday, April 15, 2021
Log in
  • Headlines
  • Business
  • Health
  • Tech & Science
  • Sports
  • World
  • US
  • Latest News
    • How To Make Your Own Home-Brewed Morphine
    • Using Mouthwash Too Often Puts You at Risk of Obesity and Diabetes
    • Walmart to Solve its Supply Chain Issues and Further Cut Down on Costs
    • The World’s Most Expensive Christmas Decorations
    • Netflix Hopes to Balance Data Limit With Great Video Quality
    • Joji Morishita says Japan Will Resume Whaling
    • The Most Beloved Plastic Surgeries Among Americans
    • Skype for Web Allows Non-Users to Take Part In Its Online Chats

Pages

  • About Capital Wired
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Reprint & Licensing
  • Staff
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Here’s Why Your Brain Keeps Worrying about Everything June 29, 2018
  • Don’t Throw That Sunscreen after Summer Is Up June 29, 2018
  • Analysts: Currency War between U.S. and China Might Be Looming June 28, 2018
  • Starbucks Rival The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Opening 100 Shops June 27, 2018
  • Study Finds We Are Alone in the Universe June 26, 2018
  • Restaurant Owner Not Sorry for Booting Sarah Sanders June 26, 2018
  • Beware of the Hidden Salt in Your Food! June 25, 2018

How Chameleons Eat

June 21, 2016 By Chen Lai Leave a Comment

Email, RSS Follow
red chameleon

Chameleons can mimic a great variety of colors

Chameleons are amongst the most fascinating animals on the planet. Scientists have been studying it for years trying to make sense of their camouflage ability, their panoramic vision, and their incredibly long tongue that grabs prey from afar. The latter was recently figured out by researchers. It seems that the secret behind how chameleons eat stands in the mucus they secrete from the tip of their tongue.

A chameleon is the perfect example of evolution, especially the power of adaptability of reptiles. Some cold-blooded animals, like the crocodiles, have survived for millions of years due to the fact that they are on top of the food chain, not needing to change anything in their dinosaur-like appearance.

Other reptiles are not as lucky when it comes to brute size and force, so nature had to find other ways to make them adapt to the ever-changing environment. The chameleon is the best example of small reptiles that can flourish in a time when mass extinction is knocking on the door.

The small lizard is equipped with numerous features that allow it to overcome its predators, while not compromising on its daily insect feasts.

Nature has provided the chameleons with a rare ability to blend themselves with almost every environment. They are also capable of taking in a panoramic view of their surroundings without having to move (and thus blow their cover) thanks to their very mobile eyes that can move independently at a 360-degree angle.

When your only defense against predators is your ability to stay still and blend in with the environment, you must find a way to feed yourself without moving very much. This is where the long, whiplash tongue comes into effect.

The tongue of a chameleon is longer than its body. It’s also very muscular and able to secret a very viscous mucus that can trap the prey, holding it until it reaches the mouth of the chameleon.

The viscous material is approximately 1000 times stickier than human saliva. According to physics, when combined with the whiplash move of the chameleon’s tongue, the mucus sticks to the prey, creating a unyielding bond that allows the lizard to bring the insect into its mouth without moving an inch. That is how chameleons eat.

Image source: Pixabay

Email, RSS Follow

Chen Lai

Chen Lai

With over 6 years of experience in writing news about various topics, able and efficient to write news related to the health, business and technology market. Chen Lai can be reached at [email protected]

Filed Under: Tech & Science Tagged With: chameleons, how chameleons eat, sticky mucus

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Articles

dc logo on black galaxy background

Ava DuVernay to Direct DC’s New Gods Adaptation

March 16, 2018 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

leonardo davinci's signature in black

Is DaVinci’s Record Breaking Painting Authentic?

November 20, 2017 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

stephen hawking

Stephen Hawking Makes Gloomy Prediction For Earth In A 100 Years

May 7, 2017 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

"Dwayne Johnson not dead"

Dwayne Johnson Died this Week or Not

January 19, 2016 By Jason Leathers 3 Comments

There Are At Least Three More Seasons of Game of Thrones To Go

July 31, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Homelessness Soars in L.A., Officials Pledge to House Everybody by 2016

May 12, 2015 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

FBI Releases National Report on Slain Police Officers, Figures are Alarming

May 12, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

New York Nuclear Plant Partially Shut Down due to Hudson Oil Slick

May 11, 2015 By Jason Leathers 2 Comments

Obama Draws Heat from Democrats over Asia Trade Deal

May 9, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Florida Governor Changes Stance on Obamacare Once More, Budget on Hold

May 9, 2015 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

Secret Service to add an Extra Layer of Spikes to White House Fence

May 8, 2015 By Chen Lai Leave a Comment

Police Arrested Suspect in death of Student who tried to Sell Car on Craigslist

May 8, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen 1 Comment

AccuWeather.com: 2015 Atlantic Tropical Storm Season is Officially Open

May 7, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

Illinois Student Found Dead after Trying to Sell his Car on Craigslist

May 7, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen 2 Comments

Related Articles

  • ET movie

    Study Finds We Are Alone in the Universe

    Jun 26, 2018
  • Sarah Huckabee Sanders

    Restaurant Owner Not Sorry for Booting Sarah Sanders

    Jun 26, 2018
  • New Type of Photosynthesis Spotted in Blue-Green Algae

    Jun 20, 2018
  • Tropical fish and coral reef

    Coral Reefs Save Us from Flooding (Study)

    Jun 14, 2018
  • NASA astronaut on the moon

    NASA Astronauts Warmed Up the Moon in the 1970s

    Jun 12, 2018
  • Antarctic landscape

    Antarctica Experiencing Routine Earthquakes Like Any Other Continent

    Jun 5, 2018
  • SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch

    SpaceX Launches Powerful Communications Satellite into Orbit

    Jun 5, 2018
  • Planet Pluto

    Scientists Have New Theory About Pluto’s Formation

    May 30, 2018
  • The Milky Way

    NASA Uses Lasers to Re-Create Coldest Spot in the Universe

    May 22, 2018
  • Plastic bottle on a sand beach

    Earth Has Had 33 Years of Above-than-Average Temperatures

    May 21, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Tech & Science
  • US
  • World

Copyright © 2021 capitalwired.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact