Fishionary

A blog about fish words!

By Abigail Lynch

A blog about fish words!

caudal fin

Homocercal

June 17, 2016 by abby

A homocercal tail is a caudal fin composed of two lobes of equal proportion.  Homocercal tails are the most common caudal fin type in fish but can come in many symmetrical shapes.  A homocercal tail is contrasted with a heterocercal tail which has unequal lobes.

Posted in: H Tagged: caudal fin, fish tail, heterocercal

Heterocercal

May 6, 2016 by abby

A heterocercal tail is a caudal fin composed of two asymmetrical lobes.  Often, such as the case in many sharks, the vertebral column passes through the upper lobe, making it the larger of the two lobes.  A heterocercal tail is contrasted with a homocercal tail which has equal lobes.

Posted in: H Tagged: caudal fin, fish tail, homocercal, sharks

Caudal fin

March 21, 2014 by abby 1 Comment

The caudal fin, or tail, of a fish is the only fin to be connected to the vertebral column.  It is the primary means of locomotion for most fish.  Unlike many marine mammals with tails that use an up-and-down motion, fish generally use a side-to-side thrust of their caudal fin for propulsion.  The shape of the … [Read more…]

Posted in: C Tagged: caudal fin

Fishionary Alphabet

  • Home
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

Recent Posts

  • Alevin
  • Abyssopelagic zone
  • Kype
  • Fish conservation zones (FCZs)
  • Amphidromous
The views expressed in these posts are solely the views of the AFS member who wrote them and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), its officers, or the U.S. Geological Survey. Both organizations make no representation on the accuracy of opinions expressed in this blog. AFS merely hosts voluntary blogs as a place for members to share their personal views with other AFS members and to engage in friendly exchanges on fish topics.

Copyright © 2023 Fishionary.

Church WordPress Theme by themehall.com