Dr. Noel and Dr. Hu discover structures on the cat tongue, hollow spines that they call cavo papillae, shared across six species of cats.
Cats’ tongues are carpeted with hundreds of sharp spines, which are composed of keratin and spring into action during grooming.
“The cat tongue is most recognized for its hundreds of sharp, backward-facing keratin spines called filiform papillae,” said Georgia Tech scientists Alexis Noel and David Hu.
“A 1982 study concluded that a cat papilla has the shape of a solid cone, an observation that remained undisputed for two decades.”
“In our study, we show that the papilla is in fact scoop shaped, enabling it to use surface tension forces to wick saliva.”
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/cat-tongues-06638.html