AI: v5 (First Timer)

CHAMELEON TONGUES: The chameleon has a bony protrusion in its mouth.  It’s like have a little needle in its mouth that the tongue loads on.

CHAMELEON TONGUES: The chameleon has ligaments and muscle that are inside the tongue so it can quickly draw it back to its mouth when it catches prey

CHAMELEON TONGUES: The short-fat bone in the mouth–the hyoid bone– is critical for the chameleon’s accuracy. 

CHAMELEON TONGUES: The chameleon-body’s-length tongue is twice the length of the chameleon’s body.  The tongue scrunches around the bone in its mouth.

CHAMELEON TONGUES: The are 20 cleverly-woven collagen tongue sheaths in the chameleon’s mouth which telescope within each other.  They load with power.

CHAMELEON TONGUES: Collagen is the name of the protein molecule that is stronger than steel.  The sheaths in the chameleon’s mouth are made of this.

CHAMELEON TONGUES: The hyoid bone acts like the stabilizing bar on a model rocket launch pad as the tongue moves out.

CHAMELEON TONGUES: Each collagen tube explodes off the hyoid bone, power-springing from the bone one after another.

CHAMELEON TONGUES: The acceleration is so fast that that if the inside collagen’s tube’s radius was any bigger than 10 cm, or if the anchoring to the bone was just a tiny bit shorter, the tongue would launch off the bone and be gone!

CHAMELEON TONGUES: The center of the tongue is stiff like a pencil eraser.  It indents upon impact at lightning speed and acts like a toilet plunger seizing the soon-to-be-gone Mr bug.  In millionths of a second,  the mushy sides of the tongue also whip around the poor victim holding it like a vice.