# Are fish the only creatures without a Tongue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082 "2014-10-12T01:30:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/21 "2014-10-12T04:26:22Z")
> [@callander](#): > > Yes I would agree the human teeth kind of give it away as photoshopped. > **[Pacu, The Fish With Very Human Teeth](https://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/02/pacu-fish-with-very-human-teeth.html)** ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/22 "2014-10-12T04:27:53Z")
> [@callander](#): > > Yes I would agree the human teeth kind of give it away as photoshopped. [Many fish do indeed have human-looking teeth](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fish+human+teeth&biw=1857&bih=948&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-gE6VKLAOuGf7gbay4GoCA&sqi=2&ved=0CCYQsAQ) (some of those images are photoshopped, of course, [and some aren’t even fish], but I think most of them are genuine). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/23 "2014-10-12T04:30:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Animalia Kingdom should sum it up. Basically any animal, insect, fish, reptile etc. > > [ADW: Animalia: INFORMATION](http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Animalia/) OK, then, as I said, lots. In fact the vast majority of animals, basically anything that is not a vertebrate. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/24 "2014-10-12T08:55:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I totally forgot about insects. They are so tiny that I’ve never seen a mouth, much less a tongue. 🙂 I don’t know if they have tongues or not. Insects don’t have conventional tongues since their mouths are basically like the upper end of an esophagus. They masticate their their food externally. This, apart from the blood suckers. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/25 "2014-10-12T09:50:25Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > On the other hand, I do believe the OP is correct to believe that many types of fish do not have tongues, and, I believe, even in those that have a tongue like structure in their mouth (including the one that gets eaten by the parasite) it is not technically correct to call it a tongue. According to the Yahoo Answer at the bottom of this page, it is correctly called a _basihyal_. (Yahoo Answers generally demand to be taken with a large pinch of salt, but in this case the answerer seems to be quoting something fairly authoritative.) At the bottom of what page? Searching on basihyal I get only one reference that links it to “fish” tongues and that speaks of sharks. Since (most?) bony fishes are more closely related to us than to sharks I’m not willing to accept the “fish don’t have tongues”-just yet. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/26 "2014-10-12T11:30:16Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I know at least some fish have tongues, because I was once horrified by a picture of a parasite that actually replaces the tongue of a fish. In agreement with **njtt**. As I understood it, fish don’t have real tongues, but something that sort of looks like one in the same place. I Googled it a bit and most sources are saying fish do have tongues, but I think they might be using an overly liberal definition of “tongue” (“anything we call a tongue”.) > [@aceplace57](#): > > Animalia Kingdom should sum it up. Basically any animal, insect, fish, reptile etc. Well _that_ narrows it down! The majority of animals will not have tongues, because the majority of animals are insects and worms and other invertebrates. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/27 "2014-10-12T11:49:34Z")
Incidentally, Cecil wrote a column answering the question [“Do all mammals have tongues?”](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/4/do-all-mammals-have-tongues) in what was probably his shortest answer ever. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/28 "2014-10-12T12:04:57Z")
Ok. Are there any invertebrates that have a tongue? In the absence of any better information I am going to wager all vertebrates have a tongue - some internal mouth appendage that assists in swallowing and/or has chemical sensors (taste). There! Two challenges. Any takers on either? ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/29 "2014-10-12T14:30:12Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > [Pacu, The Fish With Very Human Teeth | Amusing Planet](http://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/02/pacu-fish-with-very-human-teeth.html) I am torn on which is more nightmarish: the parasite that replaces a tongue, or the fish with human teeth. I see a SyFy original movie in the works for Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/30 "2014-10-12T15:55:57Z")
> [@naita](#): > > At the bottom of what page? > > Searching on basihyal I get only one reference that links it to “fish” tongues and that speaks of sharks. Since (most?) bony fishes are more closely related to us than to sharks I’m not willing to accept the “fish don’t have tongues”-just yet. Oops, sorry, guess I forgot the link. Bottom of [this page](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080222085414AAlP6ll). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/31 "2014-10-12T16:26:25Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > [Pacu, The Fish With Very Human Teeth | Amusing Planet](http://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/02/pacu-fish-with-very-human-teeth.html) From the linked article (bolding mine): “Pacu uses its teeth mainly to crush nuts and fruits, but sometimes they also eat other fish and invertebrates. They usually eat floating fruits and nuts that drop from trees in the Amazon, **and on a few occasions were reported to attack the testicles of male swimmers mistaking them to be floating nuts.** This has earned them the name of “ball-cutter” after they castrated a couple of local fishermen in Papua New Guinea. So when the fish was spotted in a few odd lakes in Denmark and later in Washington, New Jersey and Illinois last year, a mild panic ensued.” I’ve seen small sharks while surfing and they didn’t worry me much; but I think I’ll pass on swimming with these guys. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/32 "2014-10-12T16:32:48Z")
It looks like almost all tetrapods have tongues. The fish tongue is not muscular, so not quite the same thing. It makes sense though, fish don’t need tongues so much as an aid to eating, it’s quite a bit more useful for animals eating out of the water. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/33 "2014-10-12T16:39:43Z")
> [@Mr.Me](#): > > From the linked article (bolding mine): > > “Pacu uses its teeth mainly to crush nuts and fruits, but sometimes they also eat other fish and invertebrates. They usually eat floating fruits and nuts that drop from trees in the Amazon, **and on a few occasions were reported to attack the testicles of male swimmers mistaking them to be floating nuts.** This has earned them the name of “ball-cutter” after they castrated a couple of local fishermen in Papua New Guinea. So when the fish was spotted in a few odd lakes in Denmark and later in Washington, New Jersey and Illinois last year, a mild panic ensued.” > > I’ve seen small sharks while surfing and they didn’t worry me much; but I think I’ll pass on swimming with these guys. :eek: I have no cite, but I recall that story going around some months ago, and it turned out to be a joke or hoax. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/34 "2014-10-12T16:51:06Z")
> [@j\_sum1](#): > > There! Two challenges. Any takers on either? Sure. > [@](#): > > Ok. Are there any invertebrates that have a tongue? Of course, the organs used are not homologous, so they are not technically tongues. However, mollusks have an organ called a [radula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radula) that serves the same function. > [@](#): > > In the absence of any better information I am going to wager all vertebrates have a tongue - some internal mouth appendage that assists in swallowing and/or has chemical sensors (taste). [Some frogs lack tongues.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipidae) There are probably a few others. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/35 "2014-10-12T18:06:34Z")
Reading Wiki, it seems that fish have a fleshy process in the base of their mouth, but it is not muscular, and is therefore not a tongue in terms of the organ’s function and capability. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082/36 "2014-10-12T21:01:40Z")
I had wondered if there were any mammals without tongues, But Cecil’s lengthy explanation convinced me there weren’t. 😛 I learned long ago assumptions are dangerous in science, You could list 200 mammals with confirmed tongues and someday would say, “what about x?”. Nature can be unpredictable just when you think you understand it. > [@EmilyG](#): > > Incidentally, Cecil wrote a column answering the question [“Do all mammals have tongues?”](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/4/do-all-mammals-have-tongues) in what was probably his shortest answer ever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fish-the-only-creatures-without-a-tongue/701082.md?page=1)