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. For its upper and
lower jaws are, as it were, inverted, it being the upper jaw which
in other animals is the immovable one. The tongue, however, on this
animal is not attached to the upper jaw, because that would
interfere with the ingestion of food, but adheres to the lower jaw,
because this is, as it were, the upper one which has changed its
place. Moreover, it is the crocodile's lot, though a land animal, to
live the life of a fish, and this again necessarily involves an
indistinct formation of the part in question.
The roof of the mouth resembles flesh, even in many of the fishes;
and in some of the river species, as for instance in the fishes
known as Cyprini, is so very flesh-like and soft as to be taken by
careless observers for a tongue. The tongue of fishes, however, though
it exists as a separate part, is never formed with such distinctness
as this, as has been already explained. Again, as the gustatory
sensibility is intended to serve animals in the selection of food,
it is not diffused equally over the whole surface of the tongue-like
organ, but is placed chiefly in the tip; and for this reason it is the
tip which is the only part of the tongue separated in fishes from
the rest of the mouth. As all animals are sensible to the pleasure
derivable from food, they all feel a desire for it. For the object
of desire is the pleasant. The part, however, by which food produces
the sensation is not precisely alike in all of them, but while in some
it is free from attachments, in others, where it is not required for
vocal pur, poses, it is adherent
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