heterocercal tail
Unequal fin lobes
A heterocercal tail is asymmetrical, with the vertebral column extending into an upper lobe that is typically longer than the lower lobe.
This tail structure appears in sharks and sturgeon, where it generates lift during swimming.
The term contrasts with homocercal, describing the symmetrical tails of most bony fish: The shark's heterocercal tail propelled it upward as it cruised.
- sturgeonLarge armored fish
- propulsionForce driving movement forward
- paddlefishFish with oar-shaped nose
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- hydrodynamicsScience of liquid motion
vertebral column · swim bladder · bony fish · asymmetrical · jawless fish · thrust · pectoral fin · pelvic fin · ray · fossil record · gills · swimming · fin · notochord · lobed · ancient · dorsal fin · locomotion
- primitive fishlungfish, coelacanth, bowfin, gar, sturgeon
- finsdorsal fin, anal fin, pectoral fin, pelvic fin, paired fins
tail, tailed, tailing, tailless, hetero, heterogeneous, heterodox, heterosexual