Although the chameleon is famed for its ability to change colors and camouflage itself in different environments, scientists have decently discovered another reason why these little guys are purely amazing—their tongues.
Christopher Anderson, a researcher from Brown University, conducted a study on tiny rosette-nosed chameleons and found that their tongue movement can reach record speeds.
The speed of chameleon tongues depends on their size, which is why he chose to study the tinier rosette-nosed chameleons. According to Anderson, the smaller chameleons can lash their tongues out at the same speed as a car accelerating from 0-60 mph in .01 seconds.
Newsweek reports that the power behind the tongues has nothing to do with muscle. Instead, the lizards have elastic collagen fibers that can build up and store energy to release on its prey.
These measurements were determined from statistics of one rosette-nosed chameleon. According to Newsweek, the lizard is an endangered species typically found in mountainous regions of Tanzania.
[via Newsweek]