Re: Coelacanth article in current NatGeo

["Habib, Michael" <MHabib@Chatham.edu>]

As some additional food for thought with regards to fin evolution, consider 
that free-swimming organisms have a challenge in the sense that rapid starts 
are best initiated using large fluid forces at a low L:D ratio ("drag-based" 
locomotion) while sustained swimming tends to be most efficient and rapid using 
moderate to large fluid forces at a high L:D ratio ("lift-based" locomotion).  

Fleshy fins are one potential solution to this problem, as they can be used as 
either a drag-based paddle or a lift-based hydrofoil depending on the 
orientation of the limb element.

An alternative is to have compliant fins, but a flexible body that can bend 
sufficiently to serve as a drag-based paddle during fast starts.  The latter 
solution is what ray-finned fish (especially teleosts) generally use, with a 
few exceptions.  The fast-start mechanic is of such importance that up to 75% 
of the muscle mass in some taxa is devoted almost exclusively to fast-start 
usage, acting as payload the rest of the time.  Of course, in teleosts 
especially, this involves a major reorganization - not only are the fins 
compliant, but the pelvic and pectoral girdles are shoved up behind the head, 
making most of the length of the animal effectively a hypertrophied "tail" 
involved in propulsion.  The compliance of the ray-fins is then useful for 
other aspects of control and propulsion.  Note than in secondarily stiff-bodied 
fish, such as surgeonfish and triggerfish, the pectoral fins have become 
secondarily fleshy, and are used in an aquaflying manner for primary propulsion.

Cheers,

--MH


Michael Habib
Assistant Professor of Biology
Chatham University
Woodland Road, Pittsburgh PA  15232
Buhl Hall, Room 226A
mhabib@chatham.edu
(443) 280-0181


On Feb 24, 2011, at 1:00 PM, Augusto Haro wrote:

> I think Choo is right. Chondrichthyans also have fleshy fins, thus
> suggesting fleshy fins came first. Thus, the reason by which fleshy
> fins were good may reduce to the reason by which fins are good. Now,
> it may be asked why ray fins are more adaptive, if they persisted
> because of intrinsic adaptive superiority and not because of luck at
> the mass extinction (or because of other improvement in
> actinopterygians).
> 
> 2011/2/24 Erik Boehm <erikboehm07@yahoo.com>:
>>>>   Maybe my understanding of
>>> their diversity is wrong, but it seems odd
>>>>   that at one point there were so many fleshy
>>> finned fish, and now
>>>>   there are almost none.
>>> 
>>> A couple of mass extinctions.
>> 
>> Of course, but prior to those, the lobe fins were not restricted to 
>> bottom/river dwellers correct? if so, what purpose did those fleshy fins 
>> serve?
>> 
>> Its my understanding the basal lobe fins did not live in rivers, or along 
>> the sea floor, where such fins may have been useful for holding the fish 
>> against a surface. What was the original use?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>