As I understand it (haven’t checked recently) snakes have no taste buds on their tongues. If by “taste” you mean vomeronasal, its OK. If standard taste (cranial nerves VII, IX and X) probably not true. I’ve always known this, just didn’t know all the terms that they put it in, pmsl.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2013/11/18/function-oscillatory-tongue-flicks-snakes/
Hint: It's Not For Talking. The fact is, the snake, and its tongue, have gotten a bad rap. A snake's tongue is one of the great marvels of nature; a cleverly designed appendage that gives the snake, one of the humblest creatures found in the animal kingdom, a much needed leg-up.
http://www.petmd.com/reptile/pet_lover/evr_rp_why_snakes_use_tongue
Why do snakes stick out their tongues? Why do snakes stick out their tongues?
http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question57586.html
It is believed that the snake's tongue is split so that it knows which direction to move based on the preponderance of chemical particles on one side of its forked tongue in relation to a lesser degree of particles on the other side of the tongue. Think of it as akin to having 3-D glasses for the tongue.
http://www.petmd.com/reptile/pet_lover/evr_rp_why_snakes_use_tongue
While there are other animals that have forked tongues, (some species of lizards, frogs and birds, for example), the snake has been found to have the most complex receptor system built into its tongue. To begin, if you look into a snake's open mouth, you will not see much of a tongue at all.
http://www.petmd.com/reptile/pet_lover/evr_rp_why_snakes_use_tongue
The tongue actually works more like a human nose. The snake sticks out its tongue to pick up scent particles. When the snake returns its tongue back into its mouth, the two forked tips deposit the molecules into ducts where they pass into the Jacobson's Organ..
http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question57586.html
NCBI ROFL: Real men prefer curvy cakes and straight snakes. Figure 2: Drawings and representative kinematic profiles illustrating the movements of the tongue for the 3 TFTs. [tongue-flick types] (A) Successive tongue movements in an SDE. (B) Successive tongue movements in an SO.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2013/11/18/function-oscillatory-tongue-flicks-snakes/
I have nine snakes and in taking many photos of my snakes in rapid succession, I’ve noticed this myself and stated this fact to my bf. I noticed a difference when they were flicking at the air versus flicking at their substrate, or a tree branch.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2013/11/18/function-oscillatory-tongue-flicks-snakes/
1 vote Vote for this answer. A snake sticks out its tongue to collect data for its Jacobson's Organ, an organ strategically located in front of the roof of the snake's mouth that functions as a chemical receptor.
http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question57586.html
However, is this the only reason for the seemingly-constant snake tonguing? To see what else snakes might be up to with all that lingual action, these biologists recorded snake tongues with four high-speed video cameras and reconstructed a 3D model of the tongue in motion.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2013/11/18/function-oscillatory-tongue-flicks-snakes/
why do snakes stick their tongue out
Snakes stick their tongue out because to pick up scent particles. Snakes stick their tongue out to pick up scent particles.