Shooting Mechanisms in Nature: A Systematic Review
Fig 24
The muscle-powered squeeze catapult mechanism in the family Plethodontidae or lungless salamanders (species Hydromantes supramontis).
(A) The tongue with the unfolded tongue skeleton, two accelerator (or protractor) muscles, collagen fibers in the sheaths between the accelerator muscles, and retractor muscle. (B) Contraction of the accelerator muscle loads the sheaths with elastic energy and forces the two posterior ends of the skeleton forward. (C) Folding of the tongue skeleton to the midline during discharge. Drawings based on schematic drawings in [127]. Scale bar indicates a length of up to 80% of the body length (peak launch distance 4 cm in Hydromantes genei [31]).