The sticky organ frogs use to catch prey is the tongue.
A frog’s tongue is a specialized capture tool that can shoot out, wrap around an insect and retract rapidly into the mouth. It is typically attached at the front of the lower jaw, so it flips outward rather than extending from the back of the throat as a human tongue does.
The tongue’s remarkable grip comes from its saliva. Frog saliva behaves as a two-phase viscoelastic fluid: pressure makes it spread over prey, while reduced pressure lets it become thicker and more elastic again. This helps the tongue hold insects and other small moving animals during retraction.
Frogs do not chew their food. Weak teeth along the upper jaw help hold prey, while the tongue performs the initial capture. Some frogs lack a tongue entirely and seize food with their hands; the African bullfrog, for example, can use bony jaw projections when taking relatively large prey.
Another surprising detail is that a frog’s eyes assist swallowing. They can retract into the skull and help push food toward the throat.