Facts : 1 Feeding anatomy The giant anteater has no teeth and is capable of very limited jaw movement
Facts : 2 It relies on the rotation of the two halves of its lower jaw, held together by a ligament at the tip, to open and close its mouth
Facts : 3 This is accomplished by its masticatory muscles, which are relatively underdeveloped
Facts : 4 Jaw depression creates an oral opening large enough for the slender tongue to flick out
Facts : 5 The tongue is covered in backward-curving papillae and coated in thick, sticky saliva secreted from its enlarged salivary glands, which allows the giant anteater to collect insects with it
Facts : 6 The tube-like rostrum and small mouth opening restrict the tongue to protrusion-retraction movements
Facts : 7 During feeding, the tongue moves in and out around 160 times per minute (nearly three times per second)
Facts : 8 According to biologist Virginia Naples, these movements are powered by the unique musculature of the giant anteater s long, large, and flexible hyoid apparatus
Facts : 9 Conversely, biologist Karen Reiss states that the anteater s tongue has no attachments to the hyoid and this is what allows it to flick its tongue at such speeds
Facts : 10 The buccinators allow it to slide back in without losing attached food and tighten the mouth to prevent food from escaping as it protracts
Facts : 11 When retracted, the tongue is held in the oropharynx by the secondary palate, preventing it from blocking respiration
Facts : 12 This retraction is aided by the long sternoglossus muscle, which is formed by the fusion of the sternohyoid and the hyoglossus, and does not attach to the hyoid
Facts : 13 Giant anteaters swallow at a much higher rate than most other mammals; when feeding, they swallow almost continuously
Facts : 14 The giant anteater s stomach, similar to a bird s gizzard, has hardened folds and uses strong contractions to grind up the insects
Facts : 15 The digestive process is assisted by small amounts of ingested sand and soil
Facts : 16 The giant anteater cannot produce stomach acid of its own, but uses the formic acid of its prey for digestion
