A closer look
Imagine being so tall that your primary evolutionary concern is whether the inside of your mouth needs SPF 50. Because giraffes spend up to 12 hours a day with their tongues extended to strip leaves from thorny acacia trees, their tongues evolved a dark purple hue loaded with melanin. This built-in pigmentation acts as a biological sunblock, preventing their 20-inch tongues from getting brutally blistered by the harsh African sun.






