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The tail of a shark consists of the caudal peduncle and the caudal fin, which provide the main source of thrust for the shark. Most sharks have heterocercal caudal fins, meaning that the backbone extends into the (usually longer) upper lobe. The shape of the caudal fin reflects the shark's lifestyle, and can be broadly divided into five categories:
A large species that often reaches 3.0 m (9.8 ft), the Galapagos reef shark has a typical fusiform "reef shark" shape and is very difficult to distinguish from the dusky shark (C. obscurus) and the grey reef shark (C. amblyrhynchos). An identifying character of this species is its tall first dorsal fin, which has a slightly rounded tip and ...
The shape, size, position and colour of the dorsal fin varies with the type of billfish, and can be a simple way to identify a billfish species. For example, the white marlin has a dorsal fin with a curved front edge and is covered with black spots. [4] The huge dorsal fin, or sail, of the sailfish is kept retracted most of the time. Sailfish ...
The sandbar shark is one of the largest coastal sharks in the world, and is closely related to the dusky shark, the bignose shark, and the bull shark. Its dorsal fin is triangular and very high, and it has very long pectoral fins. Sandbar sharks usually have heavy-set bodies and rounded snouts that are shorter than the average shark's snout.
The spot-tail shark is a spindle-shaped fish growing to about 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in). It has a fairly long, pointed snout and moderately large eyes. The first dorsal fin is large and curved, while the second dorsal fin is small and low. The back and sides are grey and the belly white, and a long white streak is on the flank.
According to biologists, the dorsal fin’s size in such shallow water should reveal part of the shark’s back or a second dorsal fin — neither of which are visible.
The whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, and the only member of its genus.A small shark that does not usually exceed 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in length, this species is easily recognizable by its slender body and short but broad head, as well as tubular skin flaps beside the nostrils, oval eyes with vertical pupils, and white-tipped dorsal ...
The common name refers to its distinctive, thresher-like tail or caudal fin which can be as long as the body of the shark itself. Cetorhinidae: Basking sharks: 1 1 The basking shark is the second largest living fish, after the whale shark, and the second of three plankton-eating sharks, the other two being the whale shark and megamouth shark.