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Dorsal fin diagram with landmarks labeled. Fins allow the sharks to be able to guide and lift themselves. Most sharks have eight fins: a pair of pectoral fins, a pair of pelvic fins, two dorsal fins, an anal fin, and a caudal fin. Pectoral fins are stiff, which enables downward movement, lift, and guidance.
The caudal fin is the tail fin (from the Latin cauda meaning tail), located at the end of the caudal peduncle. It is used for propulsion in most taxa (see also body-caudal fin locomotion). The tail fin is supported by the vertebrae of the axial skeleton and pterygiophores (radials). Depending on the relationship with the axial skeleton, four ...
Epaulette sharks are named for the prominent black spot behind their pectoral fins. The epaulette shark has an elongated body, over half of which is comprised by the slender caudal peduncle. The snout is short and rounded, with the nares placed almost at the tip along with a pair of tiny barbels; there are grooves running from the nares to the ...
The caudal fin has a strong lateral keel and a crescent shape. Other common names include bone shark, elephant shark, sailfish, and sunfish. In Orkney, it is called hoe-mother (contracted homer), meaning "the mother of the piked dogfish". [5] The basking shark is a cosmopolitan migratory species found in
The bones to which the pectoral fin is attached. peduncle Usually referred to as the caudal peduncle, the region of the body between the end of the anal fin and the base of the caudal fin. pelagic Living on or in the open seas. pelvic girdle The bones to which the ventral fins are attached. pelvic fins Paired fins behind or below the pectoral fins.
Hexanchiform sharks have one spineless dorsal fin located over or behind the pelvic fins and one anal fin. The vertebral column extends into the long dorsal lobe of the caudal fin, while the ventral lobe is either small or absent. They have either six or seven gill slits, located in front of the pectoral fins. They have a large mouth, with eyes ...
Named for their exceptionally long, thresher-like heterocercal tail or caudal fins (which can be as long as the total body length), thresher sharks are active predators; the tail is used as a weapon to stun prey. [12] [13] The thresher shark has a short head and a cone-shaped nose.
The pectoral fins are large, but not clearly demarcated from the body, and together with the body are known as the disc. They start from the side of the head in front of the gill openings and end at the caudal peduncle. There are up to two dorsal fins but no anal fin. A slender tail is clearly demarcated from the disc.