Chameleons Possess Weatherproof, Ballistic Tongues

[tglassburner]

I found this article interesting.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/chameleons-tongues-reptiles.html

 

[summoner12]

Very cool. There is a thrad on here somewhere posted by Cameron B. that links to Chris A.'s videos where he was interviewed and you can see footage from the tests.

 

[Brad]

Interesting article. Also, I noticed a photo from Chris Anderson was used.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Thanks guys. This paper has been in the works for a long time and I'm glad to see it finally published and getting a lot of media attention (I know of about half a dozen news pieces with more on the way I understand). For those of you interested in the actual article, you can email me for a copy and you can see an online supplement movie here: www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0910778107/DCSupplemental

Chris

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Very cool Chris, Congratulation on this publication.

 

[warpdrive]

nice Chris. congrats

Harry

 

[hallenhe]

BBC has picked up the story. Congrats, Chris!

 

[CHAMKINGZ]

congrats man good job

 

[Chris Anderson]

Thanks guys! The article has gotten a lot of press from all over the world and I'm still doing more interviews for it. In addition to the BBC and Discovery News pieces, here are a few of the better articles on it in case anyone wants to read them:

"Chameleon Tongues Stay Speedy In The Cold" - National Public Radio (NPR)
"Chameleons' tongues still snappy in cool temperature" Scientific American
"Why chameleons are the only lizards that eat breakfast" New Scientist Magazine
"The Chameleon's "Ballistic" Tongue Is Still Lethal When It's Chilly Outside" Discover Magazine
"Chameleon Tongues Snappy Even When Cold" Science News Magazine
"Chilled Chameleons Still Quick to Snag a Meal" Live Science
"Lickin' Lizards" USF News & Media

Chris

 

[ssapssaebi]

I see this thread today. Congratulation Chris!
I'll check out this paper tomorrow when I'll get back to work!
PNAS? what a nice journal! I have one publication on PNAS 2004.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Thanks, I appreciate it. It came out in print this week (2 weeks after being published online ahead of print) as the cover of this issue of PNAS:

Chris

 

[ssapssaebi]

Thanks, I appreciate it. It came out in print this week (2 weeks after being published online ahead of print) as the cover of this issue of PNAS:

Chris

oh my! It's my dream to publish my paper with cover!
Congratulation again!
So when you gonna have your defense?

 

[kpritch17]

Congrats, Chris. Very interesting article! Has there been any research on how the temperature affects digestion in chameleons? I'm guessing the same as other reptiles, but maybe they can tolerate colder temperatures and still digest efficiently better than others since their tongue is affected less?

 

[Chris Anderson]

oh my! It's my dream to publish my paper with cover!
Congratulation again!
So when you gonna have your defense?

I still have another 2 years probably before I finish. This was just the first chapter of my dissertation research.

Congrats, Chris. Very interesting article! Has there been any research on how the temperature affects digestion in chameleons? I'm guessing the same as other reptiles, but maybe they can tolerate colder temperatures and still digest efficiently better than others since their tongue is affected less?

I don't know of anything specifically on thermal effects on chameleon digestion but I assume its no different than other herps. They have an optimum temperature for digestion and they attempt to regulate their body temperature to that temperature. The average body temperature for a number of different chameleon species has been measured in the wild and is usually in the 28-33 degrees Celsius range (T. jacksonii, T. hoehnelii, Ch. dilepis, etc.), however the field body temperature of T. schubotzi averages around 19-22C. Not sure if their optimum digestion temperatures are lower.

Chris

 

[GoFast]

As has been said over and over...

Congrats Chris! This must be really exciting for you. It is definitely something to be proud of.