Iwasaki, Shin-ichiErdoğan, SerkanAsami, Tomoichiro2022-05-112022-05-112019978-3-030-13739-7978-3-030-13738-02509-6745https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_10https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11776/9369A conspicuous feature of extant tetrapods is a movable tongue that plays a role in food uptake, mastication, and swallowing. The tongue is a muscle mass covered by a mucosal sheath, but the tongues of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are diverse in general morphology and function. For example, in frogs and toads, a component of the musculus genioglossus serves as an intrinsic tongue muscle, with the anterior part of the tongue attached to the floor of the oral cavity. Nevertheless, these features of the tongue have allowed Anurans to diversify and disperse worldwide. On the other hand, the salamander tongue is connected to the oral cavity by a root with a cartilage or a bony skeleton, and it is mainly comprised of projection and retractor muscles. In this respect, the salamander tongue seems more similar to that of reptiles and mammals than to those of frogs and toads. The morphology and function of the tongues of some reptiles, such as chameleons, and some mammals, such as nectar-feeding bats, are examples of extreme specialization. Finally, the tongue has become almost vestigial in a few species of anurans, turtles, and birds. This review summarizes and discusses many specializations of tongue form and function among tetrapods.en10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_10info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessVertebrate tongueEvolutionSpecializationEnvironmentStructure and functionDifferentiationAdaptationDorsal Lingual EpitheliumScanning-Electron-MicroscopyConnective-Tissue CoresComplete Mitochondrial GenomeChelus-Fimbriatus PleurodiraBat Rousettus-AegyptiacusBufo-Japonicus AnuraSoft-Shelled TurtleFine-StructurePrey-CaptureBook Chapter333+N/AWOS:000487210200011