The
reason for this is that a tongue would be of but little service to
such animals, seeing that they are unable to chew their food or to
taste it before swallowing, the pleasurable sensations they derive
from it being limited to the act of deglutition. For it is in their
passage down the gullet that solid edibles cause enjoyment, while it
is by the tongue that the savour of fluids is perceived. Thus it is
during deglutition that the oiliness, the heat, and other such
qualities of food are recognized; and, in fact, the satisfaction
from most solid edibles and dainties is derived almost entirely from
the dilatation of the oesophagus during deglutition. This sensation,
then, belongs even to animals that have no tongue, but while other
animals have in addition the sensations of taste, tongueless animals
have, we may say, no other satisfaction than it. What has now been
said explains why intemperance as regards drinks and savoury fluids
does not go hand in hand with intemperance as regards eating and solid
relishes.
In some oviparous quadrupeds, namely in lizards, the tongue is
bifid, as also it is in serpents, and its terminal divisions are of
hair-like fineness, as has already been described. (Seals also have
a forked tongue.) This it is which accounts for all these animals
being so fond of dainty food.
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