The limpet’s tentacles are sensory organs that allow the limpet to taste its

food. The tentacles extend slowly and bend around perpendicularly. The
longitudinal muscle fibre bundles that start from the body wall and end at
the tentacle tips are comprised of loose outer bands and compact inner
bands (Figure 1). Radial muscle fibres start from the centre of the
connective tissue to the radius curve around nerves and muscle bundles.
Collagen tissues are located below the epidermis and along the longitudinal
fibres. Longitudinal and transverse muscle fibres are embedded in the
collagen tissues. A single nerve fibre enters the base of the tentacle and
branches throughout it. The extension of the tentacle is slow because radial
muscle fibres that are responsible for extension are weak fibres and are
also limited by their close association with collagen fibres. This however
allows the extended shape to be kept at a lower energy cost because
collagen is used instead of extended muscle contractions. The bending of
the tentacle is caused by the contraction and relaxation of opposing
longitudinal muscle fibres.

A snake’s tongue is a sensory organ that allows snakes to detect chemicals

by flicking them in and out of their mouth. The back and front of the tongue
are specialized for protruding and flicking, respectively (Figure 2). The back
of the tongue is made up of 2 central longitudinal muscles with 4 sheets of
transverse muscles that triangularly surround each longitudinal muscle.
When the sheet muscles contract this causes a decrease in diameter and
the tongue to protrude. The tongue retracts when longitudinal muscles
contract. At the front of the tongue, the longitudinal muscles are divided into
2 outlying upper and lower groups while the transverse muscles are central
and arranged in a cross shape. The transverse muscles resist the
contraction of the longitudinal muscles which helps with protrusion. The
flicking of the tongue is caused by the longitudinal muscles being split and
peripheral, creating a bending motion.

References
Marshall, D. J., Hodgson, A. N., & Trueman, E. R. (1989). The muscular hydrostat

of a limpet tentacle, Journal of Molluscan Studies, 55(3), 421–422

https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/55.3.421

Smith, K.K., & Kier, W.M. (1989). Trunks, Tongues, and Tentacles: Moving with

Skeletons of Muscle.