Erect tongue helps bats sop up nectar
Monday, May 6, 2013 - 17:00
in Health & Medicine
By Stephanie Pappas, LiveScienceBats use erectile tissue to drink. But don't worry — the tissue is on their tongues.Nectar-eating bats lap up the sweet liquid by engorging their tongues with blood, which, in turn, makes hairlike projections on the tongue stand at attention, new research finds. Together, the erect hairs, called papillae, act like a mop that grabs more liquid than a smooth surfa...