Orange-nectar bat uses pumping-tongue trick to sip liquids
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029241
Nature : Whereas the tongues of most bats are covered with hair-like papillae to lap up nectar from flowers, the tongue of an orange-nectar bat (Lonchophylla robusta) is almost hairless. Instead, it has two lateral grooves on either side, which when combined with capillary action, allow the bat to sip continuously without moving it. To get liquids, the orange-nectar bat sticks and holds its tongue in the nectar until it is finished drinking. Marco Tschapka of the University of Ulm in Germany and his colleagues, who used a high-speed camera to observe the technique, say the pumping tongue probably evolved so the bat could better access deep pools of liquid.
