This Bat’s Grooved Tongue Is a Mystery of Science

The groove-tongued bat Lonchophylla robusta doesn’t slurp or lap water like other mammals, nor does it vacuum it up like a straw. Instead, it utilizes something like a biological conveyor belt—liquids flow upward along the bat’s tongue, against gravity. Research published in Friday’s Science Advances reports on experiments conducted using high-speed video to analyze the bats’ odd drinking talents.

Here’s the video:

“Grooved tongues are held in contact with nectar for the entire duration of visit as nectar is pumped into the mouths of hovering bats, whereas hairy tongues are used in conventional sinusoidal lapping movements,” the study explains. “Bats with grooved tongues use a specific fluid uptake mechanism not known from any other mammal. Nectar rises in semiopen lateral grooves, probably driven by a combination of tongue deformation and capillary action.”