Tongue bristles help bats lap up nectar

Bumps stretch out as mammals drink

BRILLO TONGUE Rows of bristles line the tip of some nectar-feeding bats’ tongues and spring out to gather nectar when blood fills them during feeding, or when artificially pumped full of liquid, like the tongue tip shown in this scanning electron micrograph. 

Courtesy of Cally Harper

A rush of blood to the tongue helps some bats slurp up their food.