Lingual luring is a form of aggressive mimicry in which a predator (typically a snake or turtle) uses its tongue to fool potential prey into approaching close to what appears to be a small wriggling worm.
Lingual lures are very well developed in young alligator snapping turtles which wait underwater with their mouths open. The tongue is wriggled like a worm and fishes attracted to it are captured by a rapid snapping of the mouth.12
Lingual luring has also been noted in some species of snakes including the garter snake Thamnophis atratus34 and species of Nerodia (including N. sipedon, N. clarkii and N. rhombifer) – here the luring is initiated by flicking the surface of water with their tongue to attract fish.5 Similar behaviour has been reported in the snowy egret (Egretta thula) which uses tongue flicking when foraging.67 The puff adder Bitis arietans uses its tongue which is loosely wriggled like a worm to attract amphibian prey. The puff adder also uses its tail as a lure (caudal luring).8
References
References
- East, Mitchell B.; Fillmore, Brian M.; Ligon, Day B. (2013). "Feeding Behavior of Captive-Reared Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii)". Southeastern Naturalist. 12 (4): 692–702. doi:10.1656/058.012.0409. S2CID 86740062.
- Drummond, Hugh; Gordon, Elizabeth R. (2010). "Luring in the Neonate Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macroclemys temminckii): Description and Experimental Analysis". Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. 50 (2): 136. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1979.tb01022.x.
- Welsh, Hartwell H. Jr.; Lind, Amy J. (2000). "Evidence of Lingual-Luring by an Aquatic Snake". Journal of Herpetology. 34 (1): 67–74. doi:10.2307/1565240. JSTOR 565240. S2CID 14920116.
- Welsh, Hartwell H.; Wheeler, Clara A.; Lind, Amy J. (2010). "Spatial Ecology of the Oregon Gartersnake, Thamnophis atratus hydrophilus, in a Free-Flowing Stream Environment" (PDF). Copeia. 2010: 75–85. doi:10.1643/CE-08-106. S2CID 13781715.
- Hansknecht, Kerry A. (2008). "Lingual luring by mangrove saltmarsh snakes (Nerodia clarkii compressicauda)". Journal of Herpetology. 42 (1): 9–15. doi:10.1670/06-016.1. S2CID 26662056.
- Master, Terry L. (1991). "Use of tongue-flicking behaviour by the snowy egret" (PDF). Journal of Field Ornithology. 62 (3): 399–402.
- Buckley, P.A.; Buckley, F.G. (1968). "Tongue-flicking by a feeding snowy-egret" (PDF). Auk. 85 (4): 678. doi:10.2307/4083375. JSTOR 4083375.
- Glaudas, X.; Alexander, G. J. (2017). "A lure at both ends: aggressive visual mimicry signals and prey-specific luring behaviour in an ambush-foraging snake". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 71 (1): 1–7. Bibcode:2017BEcoS..71....2G. doi:10.1007/s00265-016-2244-6. S2CID 42792034.