The XO Directory

The giant Palm Salamander's tongue is the world's most explosive muscle. This Central American reptile's tongue muscles has explosive tongue thrust that releases over 18,000 watts of power per kilogram of muscle. Enough to catch even the most elusive insect.

Stephen Deban of the University of South Florida in Tampa said the secret to the tiny salamander's strength lies in its "ballistic" tongue-firing mechanism.

His team used high-speed video and implanted electrodes to study the prey-catching behavior of several related salamander species.

Much like an arrow shot from a bow, Deban said, the giant palm salamander's bony tongue is launched with an initial burst of energy and flies forward under its own momentum.

The "bow" is provided by elastic fibers in the salamander's mouth that stretch to store muscular energy and then release it all at once.

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