why reptiles(mostly snakes and lizards) stick out their tongue all the time? I mean that fast out-in move.
In: 0
Snakes use their tongues for collecting chemicals from the air or ground. The tongue does not have receptors to taste or smell. Instead, these receptors are in the vomeronasal, or Jacobson’s Organ, which is in the roof of the mouth. Once inside the Jacobson’s Organ, different chemicals evoke different electrical signals which are relayed to the brain.
My understanding is that they use it to ‘smell’. Smell is detecting molecules in the air through the membranes in our nose and mouth, rather than allowing air to come into contact passively, snakes and lizards put their tongue out into the air to ‘detect’ and sense more things around them. They use what’s called a ‘Jacobson organ’ to identify different smells, and darting their tongue out helps collect scent molecules from the air around them.
Latest Answers