Is the Tongue a Melee Weapon?
According to this post on the diablo 3 forums, a little old but I doubt anything changed since, here are some attacks that are considered melee, including the soul leasher/ripper :
YES *Fallen Maniac suicide bomb
YES *Soul lasher/ripper tongue attack
NO *Herald of Pestilence poison pool attack
NO *The fire breath from an Oppressor but each charging hit from oppressor counts as TWO melees.
NO *Ghom spitting acid on you when you are close range. but
YES on Ghom biting you
YES *Belial's arm smash (phase 3)
YES *Belial's exploding green circles
YES *All of Belial's phase 3 attacks are melee.
NO *The DOT when Diablo grabs you
NO *"Desecrator" circles
NO *"Plagued" circles
NO *"Molten" lava path
YES *The explosion after molten elites die
New discoveries:
YES *Siegebreaker charging attack
NO *Siegebreaker grab and throw attack and some stabbing attacks
YES *Explosion traps (like the ones in Siegebreaker and Arreat crater)
YES *Arcane lasers YES *Fire spewing structures (in Arreat crater)
NO*Fire chains
Emphasis mine.