HOW ANIMALS EAT. 
63 
and Shrew, the upper lip blends with the nose to form a 
proboscis, or’snout. The mouth is comparatively small 
in the Elephant and in gnawing animals like the Squir¬ 
rel, wide in the Carnivores, short in the Sloth, and long in 
the Ant-eater. Teeth are usually present, but vary in 
form and number with the habits of the animal. The 
Ant-eater is toothless, and the Greenland Whale has a 
sieve made of horny plates. The 
tongue conforms in size and shape 
with the lower jaw, and is a muscu¬ 
lar, sensitive organ, which serves 
many purposes, assisting in the 
prehension, mastication, and swal¬ 
lowing of food, besides being an 
organ of taste, touch, and speech. 
Its surface is covered with minute 
prominences, called papilla?, which 
are arranged in lines with mathe¬ 
matical precision. In the Cats, 
these are developed into recurved 
spines, which the animal uses in 
cleaning bones and combing its 
fur. Similar papillae occur on 
the roof and sides of the mouth 
of the Ox and other Ruminants. 
In some animals, as the Hamster 
and Gopher, the cheeks are developed into pouches in 
which the food may be carried. These may be lined with 
hair. The tongue is remarkably long in the Ant-eater 
and Giraffe, and almost immovable in the Gnawers, Ele¬ 
phants, and Whales. 
3. The Teeth of Animals.— Nearly all animals have 
certain hard parts within the mouth for the prehension or 
trituration of solid food. If these are wanting, the legs 
are often armed with spines, or pincers, to serve the same 
Fig. 27. —Human Tongue and ad¬ 
jacent parts: a, lingual papillae; 
&, papillae forming V-shaped 
lines; d, fungiform papillae; e, 
filiform papillae; g, epiglottis; 
m, uvula, or conical process, 
hanging from the soft palate, 
n; o, hard palate; r, palatine 
glands, the mucous membrane 
being removed ; v, section of the 
lower jaw. 
