![]() ![]() It is a case of convergent evolution-where different species separately developed similar biological adaptations when faced with the same environmental pressures. Their seemingly unique adaptation appears to have evolved independently in three other unrelated salamander species. “I’ve spent maybe 50 years studying the evolution of tongues in salamanders,” says David Wake, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, “this is a particularly interesting case because salamanders, who don’t do anything fast, have the fastest vertebrate movement I’m aware of.” Within their lineage, evolution found a better way to accomplish tongue-hunting. Frogs and chameleons are comparative slowpokes when it comes to their ballistic anatomies. ![]() Among amphibians, it is the quick draw champ. In less than five milliseconds, a Hydromantes salamander can launch its tongue-including the muscles, cartilage, and part of its skeleton-out of its mouth to snag a hapless insect mid-flight. ![]()
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