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Concept
Fish locomotion
Summary
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. The major forms of locomotion in fish are:
Anguilliform, in which a wave passes evenly along a long slender body;
Sub-carangiform, in which the wave increases quickly in amplitude towards the tail;
Carangiform, in which the wave is concentrated near the tail, which oscillates rapidly;
Thunniform, rapid swimming with a large powerful crescent-shaped tail; and
Ostraciiform, with almost no oscillation except of the tail fin.
More specialized fish include movement by pectoral fins with a mainly stiff body, opposed sculling with dorsal and anal fins, as in the sunfish; and movement by propagating a wave along the long fins with a motionless body, as in the knifefish or featherbacks.
In addition, some fish can variously "walk" (i.e., crawl over land using the pectoral and pelvic fins), burrow in mud, leap out of the water and even glide temporarily through the air.
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 and caudal fin, but many other species move mainly using their median and paired fins. The latter group swim slowly, but can turn rapidly, as is needed when living in coral reefs for example. But they can't swim as fast as fish using their bodies and caudal fins.
As an example of how a fish moves through the water, consider the tilapia shown in the diagram.
Official source
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