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Morning News

Northern Arizona University Researcher Discusses Chameleon Tongue Study

Aired October 27, 2000 - 10:31 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Chameleons are known for their ability to shift shades, but researchers have been puzzled by exactly how these lizards use their tongues to capture prey. It's fascinating stuff here.

Jay Meyers co-authored the study. He's a doctoral student at Northern Arizona University, live from Flagstaff this morning.

Morning, sir.

JAY MEYERS, NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY: Morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Who's there with you?

MEYERS: This is one of the chameleons that we work on here. This is a veiled chameleon.

HEMMER: Nice. A name there for he or she?

MEYERS: No name.

HEMMER: Hey, listen, I want to roll some videotape first. Do you have a monitor there where you can see us on television?

MEYERS: I don't.

HEMMER: OK, you don't. While we roll this video, though, indeed -- I'm sorry, Jay, I'm going to have to take a quick timeout here. Stand by there in Flagstaff. It's really great stuff, I promise you folks at home.

In the meantime, Bill Cosby now speaking at the podium in Charleston, West Virginia.

(INTERRUPTED BY COVERAGE OF A LIVE EVENT)

HEMMER: As promised, back to Flagstaff, Jay Meyers, Northern Arizona University, with his friend here.

And, Jay, I apologize about the interruption.

MEYERS: No problem.

HEMMER: We can't control things when it's live TV here at CNN.

Listen, I want to roll the videotape.

MEYERS: All right.

HEMMER: Show our viewers what you've discovered. And as we roll it, tell us why it's so significant, this tongue going after the insect.

MEYERS: Well, it's pretty interesting when they do shoot their tongue out. The movement occurs really fast. They're shooting their tongue out about five meters a second. And they have really fine control when they grab the prey. So you have to have really fine control and a very fast movement.

HEMMER: But, Jay, why was this critical to do so much research on it. What befuddled you or what did you find so confounding that led you to look into this?

MEYERS: Well, it was an interest that we work in our lab. We work on feeding behavior and looking at how animals move and using feeding behavior as a model. And chameleons just happen to be a good organism to do that in because they show so many bizarre and unique traits.

HEMMER: All right, while you keep talking here, I want to see if we can get the videotape back up on the air to show our viewers again.

MEYERS: All right.

HEMMER: But what specifically or biologically is it with the construction of the tongue that should be so fascinating about this?

MEYERS: It's very unique as far as among lizards and other groups as far, as we know, in that there's no other organisms that use this suction sort of mechanism to grab prey items. So these guys have -- basically, they form a suction cup at the end of their tongue and grab this thing.

HEMMER: But in my research I discovered they have actually a bone inside their tongue?

MEYERS: They do. They have a bony element inside the tongue. And a lot of vertebrates still do have a bony element inside the tongue. And it allows them to exert force on that bony element and shoot the tongue off the -- it's called the hyoid, that bony element.

HEMMER: I see. And how strong, Jay?

MEYERS: It's pretty -- the tongue is pretty damn strong.

(LAUGHTER)

HEMMER: Pretty darn strong, too. Strong words.

MEYERS: Yes, sorry. HEMMER: That's all right.

MEYERS: It is actually -- they can carry things up to 15 percent of their body weight on that, which, if you were someone like me, 150- pound person, that would be picking up a 15-pound item with your tongue.

HEMMER: Wow. OK, Jay Meyers, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Hey, thanks for sharing. Best of luck with the research and wherever it goes from here.

MEYERS: Thank you.

HEMMER: All right, have a good weekend, too.

Well, we had the BS bomb dropped on us yesterday here live on MORNING NEWS.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: What is it about you that people feel compelled to curse on the air?

HEMMER: I don't know. Must be my personality.

KAGAN: Must be that nice little face, absolutely.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

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