of the mouth, while in others, it is mounted on a pedicel. It is rendered sticky by secretions of mucus from glands in its tip and on the roof of the mouth. High-speed cinematography shows how the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) positions itself with its snout close to its prey. Its mouth then gapes widely, the lower jaw remains stationary, and the tongue bulges and changes shape as it shoots forward. The protruded tongue has a central depression, and the rim of this collapses inward as the target is struck, trapping the prey in a mucus-laden trough. Here it is held while the animal's neck is flexed, the tongue retracted and jaws closed. Large or resistant prey is retained by the teeth while repeated protrusions and retractions of the tongue draw it in. Swallowing involves alternate contraction and relaxation of muscles in the throat, assisted by depression of the eyeballs into the roof of the mouth. Many lungless salamanders of the family Plethodontidae have more elaborate feeding methods. Muscles surrounding the hyoid bone contract to store elastic energy in springy connective tissue, and actually "shoot" the hyoid bone out of the mouth, thus elongating the tongue. Muscles that originate in the pelvic region and insert in the tongue are used to reel the tongue and the hyoid back to their original positions. An aquatic salamander lacks muscles in the tongue, and captures its prey in an entirely different manner. It grabs the food item, grasps it with its teeth, and adopts a kind of inertial feeding. This involves tossing its head about, drawing water sharply in and out of its mouth, and snapping its jaws, all of which tend to tear and macerate the prey, which is then swallowed. Though frequently feeding on slow-moving animals like snails, shrimps and worms, sirenids are unique among salamanders for having developed speciations towards herbivory, such as beak-like jaw ends and extensive intestines. They feed on algae and other soft-plants in the wild, and easily eat offered lettuce. Defense Salamanders have thin skins and soft bodies, and move rather slowly, and at first sight might appear to be vulnerable to opportunistic predation. However, they have several effective lines of defense. Mucus coating on damp skin makes them difficult to grasp, and the slimy coating may have an offensive taste or be toxic. When attacked by a predator, a salamander may position itself to make