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Have you ever seen a frog catch a fly? It flicks its tongue out and at high speed like the crack of a whip, the fly appears to have disappeared and the frog appears to be swallowing. Don't blink or you'll miss it.

So how does its tongue flick out that far? How does the frog keep it in its mouth? What is the anatomy of a frog's tongue?
The frog tucks its tongue down it's throat, where else can he put it; his tongue is so long that its the only logical place it can go, it has evolved this way; evolution is always logical. Its tongue is attached to the front of the mouth for a vital few centimetres of extra length and to increase the speed of deployment.

A tongue of any animal is made of pure muscle; it has unsurpassed strength and solidity which is perfect for the frog that needs a rapid action to catch an elusive fly.

Once he has made contact with the fly, he needs a good grip to hold on and pull it back into his mouth and so the frog has evolved to have extremely sticky mucus on its tongue, which sounds disgusting but is amazingly effective.

However next time you think about kissing a frog, I would avoid using your tongue.

Learn more about this author, Henry Jinman.
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