Abstract
THE accompanying photographs of the feeding of the common toad (Bufo vulgaris, Laurenti) supply, I believe, for the first time an accurate description of the tongue movement in an Anuran. The movement in the frog is similar, but I have not so far obtained such satisfactory photographs of it. Most modern text-books assume that protrusion of the tongue is accomplished by lymph pressure. The evidence for that theory is slight1, and these photographs argue against it and in favour of a muscular mechanism, because (1) the time of protrusion is shown to be so short (sometimes less than 1/20 sec.) ; (2) the tongue and floor of the mouth show no signs of inflation ; (3) there is a distinct constriction at the base of the tongue when viewed from above in the fully extended position (see Fig. 2). These features, and others, suggest a muscular mechanism similar to that proposed by Gaupp2 on anatomical grounds; with the probability that purely intrinsic muscles play a larger part than he thinks, especially in the unrolling of the tongue and in the first part of retraction. It is still possible that lymph pressure may play a subsidiary part.
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References
Hartog, M., Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 7, 7 (1901).
Gaupp, E., Anat. Anz., 19 (1901).
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BARCLAY, O. Feeding of the Common Toad. Nature 150, 376 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/150376a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/150376a0
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