Functional Anatomical, Histological and Ultrastructural Studies of three Chameleon Species: Chamaeleo Chamaeleon, Chamaeleo Africanus, and Chamaeleon Vulgaris

It is belong to the order Squamata, family, Chamaeleonidae. They have characteristic features of tongue protrusion during capturing prey attracts many research works and assay its velocity during protrusion. Yet little studies touched the anatomical and histological feature of the juvenile tongue and especially the middle tongue region involved in the tongue elongation, the present study aimed to focus on the histological structure of the mid-tongue and clarify its role in projection of the tongue as well as the glandular structure, keratinization of lingual epithelium and proliferation capacity of the fore-tongue region in relation with their feeding habits during the juvenile age. Juvenile Chameleo chameleon are collected from Abu Rawash, north of Giza Governorate, Egypt during summer 2015. Three juvenile developmental stages are used in the present study and categorized according to the gross morphological criteria of head, abdomen and limb lengths. The tongue and hyoid apparatus were removed and photographed. Histological, immunohistochemistry of cytokeratin and stem cell factor and scanning electronic microscopic investigations were carried out on the fore-tongue region, meanwhile only histological studies were done for the median tongue region. Morphometric assessments of number and length of lingual papillae and grades of cytokeratin and stem cell expression were done. Histologically, the dorsal lingual mucosa of the fore-tongue possessed different pattern of lingual papillae including finger-like, club, cubical, biforked and multi-branched papillae. The finger-like papillae are more abundant compared to the other types. The lamina propria of anterior median tongue pad are more glandular and exhibited abundant distribution of PAS-positive tubular glands and moderate alcian blue staining affinity of both alveolar and branched alveolar glands. There is no detected keratinization of the lingual epithelium. Stem cell factor appeared denser on the lingual mucosa and cell boundaries of glandular tissues. The mid-tongue region possessed a central cartilaginous core outlined by double layers of connective tissue coat and longitudinal and circular muscle fibers which give the power of protrusion of tongue. It is the first time to record the presence of cartilaginous elements in the mid-tongue region of chameleon. Finally the authors concluded that the juvenile stages of common chameleon exhibited striking cartilaginous inner compartment of the med-tongue and glandular fore-tongue adapted for capturing prey coincides with high proliferated activities and presence of different kinds of non-keratinized lingual papillae.

show abstract

“…The present finding of lack keratinization were reported previously in adult chameleon species [30] and Pogona vitticeps lizard [31].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Lingual structural pattern of juvenile Chameleon,Chameleo chameleon

Mansi

Fouda

2017

Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Here, we focus primarily on the filiform papillae, which hereon will be referred to simply as papillae. Using data from the literature (Abd-Elnaeim et al, 2002;Fouda et al, 2015;Kleinteich and Gorb, 2016;Kobayashi et al, 1998;Kumar and Bate, 2004;Lauga et al, 2016;Mascitti and Osvaldo Kravetz, 2002;Okada and Schraufnagel, 2005;Veríssimo et al, 2015;Zweers et al, 1995) along with our own measurements, we found that papillae sizes range over three orders of magnitude ( Fig. 5G) and can have varying levels of keratinization, with some as rigid as fingernails.…”

Section: How the Tongue Surface Affects Gripsupporting

confidence: 54%

The tongue as a gripper

Noel

2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Frogs, chameleons and anteaters are striking examples of animals that can grab food using only their tongue. How does the soft and wet surface of a tongue grip onto objects before they are ingested? Here, we review the diversity of tongue projection methods, tongue roughnesses and tongue coatings, our goal being to highlight conditions for effective grip and mobility. A softer tongue can reach farther: the frog tongue is 10 times softer than the human tongue and can extend to 130% of its length when propelled in a whip-like motion. Roughness can improve a tongue's grip: the spikes on a penguin tongue can be as large as fingernails, and help the penguin swallow fish. The saliva coating on the tongue, a non-Newtonian biofluid, can either lubricate or adhere to food. Frog saliva is 175 times more viscous than human saliva, adhering the tongue to slippery, furry or feathery food. We pay particular attention to using mathematical models such as the theory of capillarity, elasticity and friction to elucidate the parameters for effective tongue use across a variety of vertebrate species. Finally, we postulate how the use of wet and rough surfaces to simultaneously sense and grip may inspire new strategies in emerging technologies such as soft robots.

show abstract

“…While in P. guttatus , the conical filiform and cylindrical papillae exhibited on the fore‐tongue and mid‐tongue, whereas tall filiform papillae are formed on the hind‐tongue. The different types of lingual papillae have been recognized in different reptile‐species such as; in Chameleon (Fouda, Sabry, & Abou‐Zaid, 2015), Varanous niloticus niloticus (Al‐Zahaby et al, 2018), gecko Oplurus cuvieri (Delheusy et al, 1994), and lizard (Taha, 2013). However, the absence of the lingual papillae from the dorsal lingual surface were reported in some turtle and snake (El‐Mansi et al, 2020; Iwasaki & Kumakura, 1994; Moa, Wang, Huang, Chao, & Chen, 1991) and suggested that snake tongue does not appear to be important for the direct intake of food.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrastructural comparison between the tongue of two reptilian species endemic in Egyptian fauna; Bosc's fringe‐toed lizard Acanthodactylus boskianus and Sinai fan‐fingered gecko Ptyodactylus guttatus

Gewily

Mahmoud

Saber

et al. 2021

Microscopy Res & Technique

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The current observations focused on the ultrastructure comparison between the tongue of two reptile species endemic the Egyptian fauna; Bosc's fringe‐toed lizard Acanthodactylus boskianus and Sinai fan‐fingered gecko Ptyodactylus guttatus to exhibit the relationship between the lingual epithelium and its function according to their specific feeding strategy. A. boskianus possessed triangular elongated tongue with bifurcated tapering apex and wide base while; the P. guttatus had a triangular flattened tongue with conical shallow bifurcated apex and broad base. The ventral surface of the lingual apex of A. boskianus had transverse while in P. guttatus had two oval pads and median ventral groove. Both surfaces of the tongue of both examined species are covered by stratified squamous epithelium with great variability of degree of keratinization. The dorsal epithelium formed flattened and conical filiform papillae in A. boskianus, while in P. guttatus formed cylindrical papillae, conical, and tall filiform ones. Few taste buds are observed on the fore‐tongue but increase on the mid‐tongue of A. boskianus, while in P. guttatus, numerous taste buds are distributed on the fore‐tongue and mid‐tongue. Both surfaces of the laryngeal mound of both examined species provided with numerous of cilia and orifices of laryngeal gland. The present results confirmed that the tongue of A. boskianus acts as a chemoreceptor organ to follow pheromone trails of prey and mates. While in P. guttatus the tongue may play an important role in the feeding mechanism and act as a chemoreceptor organ.

show abstract

Functional Anatomical, Histological and Ultrastructural Studies of three Chameleon Species: Chamaeleo Chamaeleon, Chamaeleo Africanus, and Chamaeleon Vulgaris

Cited by 8 publications

References 22 publications

Lingual structural pattern of juvenile Chameleon,Chameleo chameleon

Lingual structural pattern of juvenile Chameleon,Chameleo chameleon

The tongue as a gripper

Ultrastructural comparison between the tongue of two reptilian species endemic in Egyptian fauna; Bosc's fringe‐toed lizard Acanthodactylus boskianus and Sinai fan‐fingered gecko Ptyodactylus guttatus

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About