I’ve remarked several times that one of the dangers of being a species that reflexively tongue flickers is that your friends are going to do their best to catch you in photos with your tongue apparently hanging out. Well, today I can finally share what it looks like in motion!

Jenny, like all komodo dragons and many other species, has a structure in the roof of her mouth called a vomeronasal organ (sometimes called a Jacobson’s organ). It’s partially responsible for her sense of smell being so sharp, being able to detect both volatile organic compounds like our noses do, but also non-volatile compounds that we don’t generally think of as having a smell. However, since the organ is inside her mouth, compounds to be sensed have to be delivered to it. Time for the forked tongue to shine!

Jenny has conscious control of her tongue, of course, but she also has a reflex involving it. In one quick motion, she extends her tongue, spreads the tines wide, and flicks it up and down a few times. That action whips the thin tines of her tongue through the air to gather up particles. When she draws her tongue back in, that little arch in her upper lip helps align and direct it to just the right place. As it returns to her mouth, the tines press together and drag across her vomeronasal organ, which delivers detailed sensory information to her brain, which she experiences as a very sensitive and detailed sense of smell.

Jenny can smell using her nose like most everyone else, but when she needs a much more detailed analysis, a quick flicker of her tongue provides her with an intense burst of sensory data, for better or worse! She can do it voluntarily, but it’s also a reflexive response. It just happens now and then in the background, or when triggered by a new smell in the environment. Bring out a roast to a komodo dragon dinner table, and be prepared for flickering tongues all around as the scent wafts about and triggers the reflex.

Now, spare a thought for poor Raptie, who has to somehow live with a girlfriend who can be this casually sexy. How could you even get through the day?

I’m so, so pleased with Raiyk’s work on this one! It’s an absolute delight to finally see such an important part of Jenny’s anatomy in action. <3