Yes, squirrels possess a tongue, a highly muscular and flexible organ fundamental to their biology as mammals. This organ plays a far greater role than simply tasting the nuts and seeds they consume, facilitating everything from assessing food quality to maintaining physical health. For the squirrel, the tongue is an indispensable instrument for feeding, hydration, and complex self-care.
The Anatomy of a Squirrel’s Tongue
A squirrel’s tongue is a small, pink, and highly mobile structure, composed primarily of skeletal muscle fibers that allow for precise, rapid movements. Anatomically, the tongue is divided into three distinct regions: the apex (tip), the corpus (body), and the radix (root).
The entire dorsal surface is covered by a specialized mucous membrane featuring various lingual papillae, which are small projections that give the tongue its textured appearance. The papillae are categorized into mechanical and gustatory types, reflecting the organ’s dual functions. Filiform papillae are the most dominant, providing a rough texture that aids in the mechanical movement of food. These surface structures are covered by stratified squamous epithelium, which exhibits varying degrees of keratinization, making the tongue surface tougher and more resilient.
How the Tongue Facilitates Feeding
The muscular agility of the tongue is crucial for manipulating food items once they are secured in the mouth by the incisors and forepaws. As a squirrel chews, the tongue continually repositions the food, pushing fragments of nuts or berries onto the grinding surfaces of the molar teeth to form a manageable bolus for swallowing. This dynamic movement ensures maximum efficiency in breaking down hard, fibrous materials.
The tongue also serves as the primary tool for hydration, utilized to lap water much like other small mammals. The quick, repetitive action of the tongue brings liquid into the mouth, which is necessary for creatures that often rely on moisture-poor diets of dry seeds and nuts. Gustatory papillae house taste buds. These taste buds allow the squirrel to assess the quality, safety, and nutritional value of a food source before consuming it, enabling them to quickly reject bitter or spoiled items.
The Tongue’s Role in Hygiene and Tactile Sensing
Beyond eating, the tongue is an important instrument for maintaining the squirrel’s health through meticulous grooming. Squirrels use their tongue, often in coordination with their forepaws, to clean their fur, removing loose dirt, ectoparasites, and debris. This self-cleaning process involves licking the coat, which helps distribute natural oils to maintain the insulation and water-resistance of the fur. In parental care, a mother squirrel uses her tongue to groom her kits, licking against the direction of the fur growth to ensure thorough cleaning.
The tongue also acts as a tactile sensor, especially the highly sensitive tip. This sensitivity allows the squirrel to explore and investigate objects in its immediate environment, providing information about texture, shape, and temperature that supplements the sensory input from its whiskers and paws.