Multimedia Gallery
The Discovery FilesEarliest example of a rapid-fire tongue found in 'weird and wonderful' extinct amphibians
Fossils of bizarre, armored amphibians known as albanerpetontids provide the oldest evidence of a slingshot-style tongue. The study was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and was carried out by researchers at Sam Houston University, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Texas a Austin, and several institutions in other nations.
Credit: National Science Foundation/Karson Productions
Identity crisis.
I'm Bob Karson with the Discovery Files, new advances in science and engineering -- from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
(Sound effect: ancient landscape) Back in the day -- way back -- say at least 165 million years ago a strange little creature appeared, identified from fossil remains as an Albanerpetontid [ăl-buh-ner-peh-tahn-tid}. "Albie" for short.
Evidence shows Albies had lizard-like claws, scales and tail, yet contrary to some early classification, were not reptiles, but amphibians. An unusual combination of traits initially wrongly led to a description of Albies as underground burrowers. Now, detailed CT scans of a set of 99-million-year-old fossils redefines these tiny creatures.
Just a few inches full-grown. Seems they were actually hide-sit-and-wait predators. No burrowing, thank you very much. Instead, their skull anchored a rapid-fire tongue that Albie could contract and launch with a slingshot effect (Sound effect: cartoon tongue whip, chewing, crunching) the earliest example of this "throw out your tongue to grab dinner" technique.
Albies represent a new genus and species, but their exact place in the amphibian family tree is still unknown, and we don't know why Albies died off just a couple million years ago. Might say this little tongue-slinger with a mashup of traits certainly was exclusive, reclusive, and elusive.
"The discovery files" covers projects funded by the government's National Science Foundation. Federally sponsored research -- brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast.
Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.