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Pectoral Fin of the Megamouth Shark: Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Skin Histology, and Functional Morphology

This is the first known report on the skeletal and muscular systems, and the skin histology, of the pectoral fin of the rare planktivorous megamouth shark Megachasma pelagios. The pectoral fin is characterized by three features: 1) a large number of segments in the radial cartilages; 2) highly elast...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tomita, Taketeru, Tanaka, Sho, Sato, Keiichi, Nakaya, Kazuhiro
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3897653/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24465959
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086205
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author Tomita, Taketeru
Tanaka, Sho
Sato, Keiichi
Nakaya, Kazuhiro
author_facet Tomita, Taketeru
Tanaka, Sho
Sato, Keiichi
Nakaya, Kazuhiro
author_sort Tomita, Taketeru
collection PubMed
description This is the first known report on the skeletal and muscular systems, and the skin histology, of the pectoral fin of the rare planktivorous megamouth shark Megachasma pelagios. The pectoral fin is characterized by three features: 1) a large number of segments in the radial cartilages; 2) highly elastic pectoral fin skin; and 3) a vertically-rotated hinge joint at the pectoral fin base. These features suggest that the pectoral fin of the megamouth shark is remarkably flexible and mobile, and that this flexibility and mobility enhance dynamic lift control, thus allowing for stable swimming at slow speeds. The flexibility and mobility of the megamouth shark pectoral fin contrasts with that of fast-swimming sharks, such as Isurus oxyrhinchus and Lamna ditropis, in which the pectoral fin is stiff and relatively immobile.
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spelling pubmed-38976532014-01-24 Pectoral Fin of the Megamouth Shark: Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Skin Histology, and Functional Morphology Tomita, Taketeru Tanaka, Sho Sato, Keiichi Nakaya, Kazuhiro PLoS One Research Article This is the first known report on the skeletal and muscular systems, and the skin histology, of the pectoral fin of the rare planktivorous megamouth shark Megachasma pelagios. The pectoral fin is characterized by three features: 1) a large number of segments in the radial cartilages; 2) highly elastic pectoral fin skin; and 3) a vertically-rotated hinge joint at the pectoral fin base. These features suggest that the pectoral fin of the megamouth shark is remarkably flexible and mobile, and that this flexibility and mobility enhance dynamic lift control, thus allowing for stable swimming at slow speeds. The flexibility and mobility of the megamouth shark pectoral fin contrasts with that of fast-swimming sharks, such as Isurus oxyrhinchus and Lamna ditropis, in which the pectoral fin is stiff and relatively immobile. Public Library of Science 2014-01-21 /pmc/articles/PMC3897653/ /pubmed/24465959 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086205 Text en © 2014 Tomita et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Tomita, Taketeru
Tanaka, Sho
Sato, Keiichi
Nakaya, Kazuhiro
Pectoral Fin of the Megamouth Shark: Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Skin Histology, and Functional Morphology
title Pectoral Fin of the Megamouth Shark: Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Skin Histology, and Functional Morphology
title_full Pectoral Fin of the Megamouth Shark: Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Skin Histology, and Functional Morphology
title_fullStr Pectoral Fin of the Megamouth Shark: Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Skin Histology, and Functional Morphology
title_full_unstemmed Pectoral Fin of the Megamouth Shark: Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Skin Histology, and Functional Morphology
title_short Pectoral Fin of the Megamouth Shark: Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Skin Histology, and Functional Morphology
title_sort pectoral fin of the megamouth shark: skeletal and muscular systems, skin histology, and functional morphology
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3897653/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24465959
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086205
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