A thong was a type of strap available to the Ardanan Troglyte miners.

Shortly after James T. Kirk and Spock arrived on the surface of Ardana, they were captured by four Troglytes, who lassoed the two with their thongs.

Until the arrival of the Enterprise, mortaes and thongs were the only weapons the Disrupters (malcontent Troglytes) had to use to bargain with the Stratos city-dwellers. Vanna, one of the more intelligent Troglyte-Disruptors, nearly changed that when she temporarily acquired Captain James T. Kirk's Starfleet type 2 phaser, after having taken him hostage. This acquisition was short lived, however, because Kirk was able to quickly reacquire it from her. (TOS: "The Cloud Minders")