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                     Bats Convert Tongues Into Nectar Mops

   by VOA News

   A new study on how bats use their tongues to collect nectar could lead
   to a new generation of medical devices.
   The study, published in the [1]Proceedings of the National Academy of
   Sciences,  showed that the bat Glossophaga soricina is able to rapidly
   engorge numerous hair-like structures on the tip of its tongue with
   blood to form a perfect mop for nectar. By extending the hair-like
   structures, both the surface area and length of the tongue are
   enhanced, allowing maximum efficiency for nectar gathering.
   The findings could be combined with informaion about how hummingbirds
   and bees morph their tongues to extract nectar and lead to new medical
   technologies, say scientists at Brown University.
   "Together these three systems could serve as valuable models for the
   development of miniature surgical robots that are flexible, can change
   length and have dynamic surface configurations," the authors of the
   study wrote.
   The whole process for the bat to transform its tongue takes only an
   eighth of a second, the study said, adding that the hovering process
   over a nectar filled flower uses a lot of calories so the bat must be
   able to extract the calories in the quickest way possible to be
   worthwhile.
   "Typically, hydraulic structures in nature tend to be slow like the
   tube-feet in starfish," said lead author Cally Harper, a graduate
   student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Brown
   University in a [2]statement. "But these bat tongues are extremely
   rapid because the vascular system that erects the hair-like papillae is
   embedded within a muscular hydrostat, which is a fancy term for
   muscular, constant-volume structures like tongues, elephant trunks and
   squid tentacles."
   That the bat had hair-like structures on its tongue was not new to
   scientists, but previously they thought they worked only like the limp
   strings on a mop.
   The authors of the study do not know if other nectar-feeding bats have
   similar tongues, but speculate that other creatures like the honey
   possum might also have a similar way to gather food quickly.

   IFRAME: [3]http://player.vimeo.com/video/65318529
     __________________________________________________________________

   [4]http://www.voanews.com/content/bats-convert-tongues-into-super-effic
   ient-nectar-mops/1656340.html

References

   1. http://www.pnas.org/
   2. http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/05/tongue
   3. http://player.vimeo.com/video/65318529
   4. http://www.voanews.com/content/bats-convert-tongues-into-super-efficient-nectar-mops/1656340.html