Chris Anderson
Dr. House of Chameleons
Hi All,
Thought I would post a link to a new study that was published last week on tongue projection in chameleons. In it, I showed that small chameleon species are able to project their tongues proportionately longer distances and at higher accelerations and power output than larger species. In particular, while chameleons had previously been known to project their tongues up to 2 body lengths, I found that small species are able to project their tongues up to 2.5 body lengths. Further, while chameleons had been recorded projecting their tongues at accelerations as high as 486 m/s^2 (50 g) and at power output values (rate of energy release) up to 3,185 W/kg, I showed that small chameleons are capable of peak accelerations as high as 2,590 m/s^2 (264 g) and peak muscle mass-specific power values up to 14,040 W/kg.
As part of the release, I posted a color high-speed video of Trioceros hoehnelii feeding played back at 1/50th speed:
Here is the citation and link to the full article for anyone interested in reading the actual study:
I was really pleased to see the article receive a lot of news and media attention, having been covered by more than 220 news and media outlets around the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.
Hope you all enjoy the article!
Chris
Thought I would post a link to a new study that was published last week on tongue projection in chameleons. In it, I showed that small chameleon species are able to project their tongues proportionately longer distances and at higher accelerations and power output than larger species. In particular, while chameleons had previously been known to project their tongues up to 2 body lengths, I found that small species are able to project their tongues up to 2.5 body lengths. Further, while chameleons had been recorded projecting their tongues at accelerations as high as 486 m/s^2 (50 g) and at power output values (rate of energy release) up to 3,185 W/kg, I showed that small chameleons are capable of peak accelerations as high as 2,590 m/s^2 (264 g) and peak muscle mass-specific power values up to 14,040 W/kg.
As part of the release, I posted a color high-speed video of Trioceros hoehnelii feeding played back at 1/50th speed:
Here is the citation and link to the full article for anyone interested in reading the actual study:
I was really pleased to see the article receive a lot of news and media attention, having been covered by more than 220 news and media outlets around the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.
Hope you all enjoy the article!
Chris
