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A fish can have up to three dorsal fins. The dorsal fins serve to protect the fish against rolling, and assist it in sudden turns and stops. The bones that support the dorsal fin are called pterygiophores. There are two to three of them: "proximal" (axonosts), "middle" (baseosts), and "distal".
Most fish have a homocercal tail, but it can be expressed in a variety of shapes. The tail fin can be rounded at the end, truncated (almost vertical edge, as in salmon), forked (ending in two prongs), emarginate (with a slight inward curve), or continuous (dorsal, caudal, and anal fins attached, as in eels).
Fish locomotion. Fish locomotion is the various types of animal locomotion used by fish, principally by swimming. This is achieved in different groups of fish by a variety of mechanisms of propulsion, most often by wave-like lateral flexions of the fish's body and tail in the water, and in various specialised fish by motions of the fins.
Pectoral and pelvic fins have articulations resembling those of tetrapod limbs. These fins evolved into legs of the first tetrapod land vertebrates, amphibians. They also possess two dorsal fins with separate bases, as opposed to the single dorsal fin of actinopterygians (ray-finned fish). The braincase of sarcoptergygians primitively has a ...
Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fins are also used to increase surface areas for heat transfer purposes, or simply as ornamentation. [2][3] Fins first evolved on fish as a means of locomotion.
Some fish, such as sharks, use stiff, strong fins to create dynamic lift and propel themselves. It is common for fish to use more than one form of propulsion, although they will display one dominant mode of swimming [19] Gait changes have even been observed in juvenile reef fish of various sizes. Depending on their needs, fish can rapidly ...
Dorsal fin of a shark. A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom.Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through convergent evolution they have independently evolved external superficial fish-like body plans adapted to their marine environments ...
They also possess two dorsal fins with separate bases, as opposed to the single dorsal fin of ray-finned fish. The braincase of lobe-finned fish primitively has a hinge line, but this is lost in tetrapods and lungfish. Many early lobe-finned fish have a symmetrical tail. All lobe-finned fish possess teeth covered with true enamel.