You may have heard about the extraordinary tongue of the chameleon, the longest compared to its body size for all vertebrates. But within mammals, that honor goes to Anoura fistulata, the tube-lipped nectar bat discovered in the cloud forests of Ecuador.

While some of its relatives can extend their tongues an inch and a half, this bat's tongue can reach an astonishing 3.4 inches, or more than one and a half times its body length. This gives it access to the nectar inside bell-shaped flowers that no other bat can reach, and it's possible because the tongue is anchored deep inside the bat's rib cage, between its heart and sternum. That lends it this extra leverage.