(This video serves to accompany the essay on chameleons in the Torah, that was sent to the Zoo Torah mailing list. To subscribe to the list, send an email to essays-subscribe@zootorah.com)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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Just a little fascinating tidbit about chameleons:
The chameleon's tongue has an accelerator muscle, which by itself is not strong enough to achieve the high speed. The tongue is bound, though, to 10 newly-discovered sheaths, tied to the tongue bone, that literally catapult the tongue outwards. (At 50 G's) These sheaths contain a spirally-wound protein that store energy “like a stretched rubber band.” As the tongue accelerates, the sheaths release their energy, then telescope outward to allow the tongue to reach its maximum extent – twice the chameleon’s body length. Facing a predator so armed, the fastest fly doesn’t stand a chance.
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