Fletcher, T, Altringham, J, Peakall, J et al. (2 more authors) (2014) Hydrodynamics of fossil fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, 281 (1788). 20140703. ISSN 0080-4649
Abstract
Fromtheir earliest origins, fishes have developed a suite of adaptations for locomotion in water, which determine performance and ultimately fitness. Even without data from behaviour, soft tissue and extant relatives, it is possible to infer a wealth of palaeobiological and palaeoecological information. As in extant species, aspects of gross morphology such as streamlining, fin position and tail type are optimized even in the earliest fishes, indicating similar life strategies have been present throughout their evolutionary history. As hydrodynamical studies become more sophisticated, increasingly complex fluid movement can be modelled, including vortex formation and boundary layer control. Drag-reducing riblets ornamenting the scales of fast-moving sharks have been subjected to particularly intense research, but this has not been extended to extinct forms. Riblets are a convergent adaptation seen in many Palaeozoic fishes, and probably served a similar hydrodynamic purpose. Conversely, structures which appear to increase skin friction may act as turbulisors, reducing overall dragwhile serving a protective function. Here,we examine the diverse adaptions that contribute to drag reduction in modern fishes and review the few attempts to elucidate the hydrodynamics of extinct forms.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Keywords: | Biomechanics; Comparative anatomy; Fishes; Functional morphology; Hydrodynamics; Locomotion |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 16 Oct 2014 11:03 |
Last Modified: | 07 Dec 2022 15:22 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0703 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Royal Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1098/rspb.2014.0703 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:80600 |