Papillary Architecture of the Lingual Surface in Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus, Pallas 1811)

The tongues of birds, which are generally adapted to their feeding habits, have a wide variety of anatomical structures. The tongue structures of flamingos are equipped with the ability to make 3 different types of feedings. The aim of this study was to examine the lingual structures of flamingos. Cuticula cornificata linguae (nail tongue) structure was not observed in flamingos, which were found to have significant size and numerous papillae lingua rostralis. Micro papilla structure was observed on papilla lingua rostralis in SEM images. In the Greater flamingo, the orifices of salivary glands were found to be located lateral to the corpus of the tongue. The rugae linguae structure was recorded for the first time in Greater Flamingos.