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Fish Locomotion
Fish Locomotion
Fish Locomotion
The prevailing type of fish locomotion is swimming in water. In addition, some fish can "walk", i.e., move over land, burrow in mud, and glide through the air.
Swimming
Fish swim by exerting force against the surrounding water. There are exceptions, but this is normally achieved by the fish contracting muscles on either side of its body in order to generate waves of flexion that travel the length of the body from nose to tail, generally getting larger as they go along. The vector forces exerted on the water by such motion cancel out laterally, but generate a net force backwards which in turn pushes the fish forward through the water. Most fishes generate thrust using lateral movements of their body & caudal fin. But there are also a huge number of species that move mainly using their median and paired fins. The latter group profits from the gained manoeuvrability that is needed when living in coral reefs for example. But they can't swim as fast as fish using their bodies & caudal fins.
The final group is reserved for the high-speed long-distance swimmers, like tuna (new research shows that the thunniform locomotion is an autapomorphy of the tunas [2]). Here, virtually all the lateral movement is in the tail and the region connecting the main body to the tail (the peduncle). The tail itself tends to be large and crescent shaped.
Bone and muscle tissues of fish are denser than water. To maintain depth some fish increase buoyancy by means of a gas bladder or by storing oils or lipids. Fish without these features use dynamic lift instead. It is done using their pectoral fins in a manner similar to the use of wings by aeroplanes and birds. As these fish swim, their pectoral fins are positioned to create lift which allows the fish to maintain a certain depth. Sharks are a notable example of fish that depend on dynamic lift; notice their well-developed pectoral fins. The two major drawbacks of this method are that these fish must stay moving to stay afloat and that they are incapable of swimming backwards or hovering.
[edit] Walking
Main article: Walking fish
[edit] Burrowing
Many fishes, particularly eel-shaped fishes such as true eels, moray eels, and spiny eels, are capable of burrowing through sand or mud.[1] Ophichthids are capable of digging backwards using a sharpened tail.