 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008) |
2.png)
(1) - operculum (gill cover), (2) - lateral line, (3) - dorsal fin, (4) - fat fin, (5) - caudal peduncle, (6) - caudal fin, (7) - anal fin, (8) - photophores, (9) - pelvic fins (paired), (10) - pectoral fins (paired)
A flipper is a typically flat limb evolved for movement through water. Various creatures have evolved flippers, for example most fish (although for fish the usual term is fin), as well as certain mammals (cetaceans, pinnipeds), reptiles (turtles, and the now extinct plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, and metriorhynchids), and birds (penguins).
Flippers sometimes occur in non-flippered species as the result of a birth defect. For example, the morning-sickness drug thalidomide caused some infants to be born with flipper-like limbs.
Many marine mammals have flippers including sea lions, whales, walruses.
 |
This anatomy article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
