变色龙如何捕捉猎物
文章来源:未知 文章作者:enread 发布时间:2016-06-22 08:29 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Despite their nonchalant appearance, chameleons2 are formidable predators3, capturing their prey4 by whipping out their tongues with incredible precision. They can even capture preys5 weighing up to 30% of their own weight. In collaboration6 with the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris, researchers from the Université de Mons (UMONS) and the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) have studied this amazing sticky weapon. Chameleons are fascinating creatures with amazing characteristics. Their feet have opposable toes, giving them a tongs-like appearance, to firmly grip branches. Their eyes move independently of each other to provide 360 degree vision. Their skin changes colour via the active tuning7 of a lattice of nanocrystals contained in some cells. But their most outstanding characteristic is probably their ballistic tongue, allowing the capture of distant preys. 
 
Despite their nonchalant appearance, chameleons are formidable predators, leaving little chance to their prey. During a capture, their tongue whips out with an acceleration8 up to 1500 m/s² and extends to reach a length twice that of the chameleon1's body. They are also able to capture preys weighing up to 30% of their own weight. Sufficient adhesion between the prey and the tongue is therefore necessary to catch such preys.
 
Under the leadership of Fabian Brau from the ULB Faculty9 of Science's Nonlinear Physical Chemistry Unit, Pascal Damman from the UMONS Interfaces10 and Complex Fluids Laboratory, Faculty of Science researchers from the UMONS, ULB, and Vincent Bels from the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris have just demonstrated that the mucus secreted11 at the tip of a chameleon's tongue has a viscosity12 400 times larger than the one of human saliva13. The tongue's deformability during projection14, producing a large contact area with the prey, together with this viscous15 liquid, form a particularly efficient adhesive16 weapon.
 
Published in the Nature Physics journal on 20 June, this interdisciplinary study, combining experiments with a dynamical model of prey capture, allowed the researchers to shed light on the basic mechanisms17 used by chameleons to capture their preys.
 
The authors used mechanical tools combined with tongue morphology measurements to demonstrate that the viscous adhesion built up during a capture is large enough to catch preys with a high mass compared to that of chameleons. Their theoretical model compares favourably18 with experimental data on the maximum prey mass with respect to the chameleon size.
 
These results provide a new methodology for studying prey prehension by other predators, such as salamanders or toads19, using the tongue to capture preys.


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1 chameleon YUWy2     
n.变色龙,蜥蜴;善变之人
参考例句:
  • The chameleon changes colour to match its surroundings.变色龙变换颜色以适应环境。
  • The chameleon can take on the colour of its background.变色龙可呈现出与其背景相同的颜色。
2 chameleons 784904f50fc7d0174debc2b422ab8886     
n.变色蜥蜴,变色龙( chameleon的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Insects, birds and baby rats are the main food of chameleons. 昆虫、小鸟和幼鼠等是避役主要的食物。 来自互联网
  • A bronze chariot ridden by chameleons radiating flaring lights. 一辆被燃烧的蜥蜴覆盖的青铜战车。 来自互联网
3 predators 48b965855934a5395e409c1112d94f63     
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 );奴役他人者(尤指在财务或性关系方面)
参考例句:
  • birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
  • The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
5 preys 008ad2ad9007c4d7b3ecfb54442db8fd     
v.掠食( prey的第三人称单数 );掠食;折磨;(人)靠欺诈为生
参考例句:
  • His misfortune preys upon his mind. 他的不幸使她心中苦恼。 来自辞典例句
  • The owl preys on mice. 猫头鹰捕食老鼠。 来自辞典例句
6 collaboration bW7yD     
n.合作,协作;勾结
参考例句:
  • The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
  • He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。
7 tuning 8700ed4820c703ee62c092f05901ecfc     
n.调谐,调整,调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
参考例句:
  • They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
8 acceleration ff8ya     
n.加速,加速度
参考例句:
  • All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
  • He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。
9 faculty HhkzK     
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员
参考例句:
  • He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
  • He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。
10 interfaces ad63a35ea2ac8a42233e5ac6cb325d34     
界面( interface的名词复数 ); 接口(连接两装置的电路,可使数据从一种代码转换成另一种代码); 交界; 联系
参考例句:
  • If the class needs to be reprogrammed, new interfaces are created. 如果class需要重新程序设计,新的interfaces创建。
  • Interfaces solve this problem of evolving code. Interfaces解决了代码升级的问题。
11 secreted a4714b3ddc8420a17efed0cdc6ce32bb     
v.(尤指动物或植物器官)分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 );隐匿,隐藏
参考例句:
  • Insulin is secreted by the pancreas. 胰岛素是胰腺分泌的。
  • He secreted his winnings in a drawer. 他把赢来的钱藏在抽届里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 viscosity ehPwf     
n.粘度,粘性
参考例句:
  • The viscosity shows a rather pronounced variation with temperature.温度对粘度的影响十分明显。
  • The reciprocal of viscosity is known as fluidity.粘度的反意就是流动性。
13 saliva 6Cdz0     
n.唾液,口水
参考例句:
  • He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
  • Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。
14 projection 9Rzxu     
n.发射,计划,突出部分
参考例句:
  • Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
  • The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。
15 viscous KH3yL     
adj.粘滞的,粘性的
参考例句:
  • Gases are much less viscous than liquids.气体的粘滞性大大小于液体。
  • The mud is too viscous.You must have all the agitators run.泥浆太稠,你们得让所有的搅拌机都开着。
16 adhesive CyVzV     
n.粘合剂;adj.可粘着的,粘性的
参考例句:
  • You'll need a strong adhesive to mend that chair. 你需要一种粘性很强的东西来修理那把椅子。
  • Would you give me an adhesive stamp?请给我一枚带胶邮票好吗?
17 mechanisms d0db71d70348ef1c49f05f59097917b8     
n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 );机械装置;[生物学] 机制;机械作用
参考例句:
  • The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 favourably 14211723ae4152efc3f4ea3567793030     
adv. 善意地,赞成地 =favorably
参考例句:
  • The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。
  • The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。
19 toads 848d4ebf1875eac88fe0765c59ce57d1     
n.蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短,一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句
TAG标签: prey capture chameleons
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