HETEROCERCAL • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Heterocercal

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/hˌɛtəroʊsˈərkəl/ Listen

Heterocercal

adjective

Possessing a tail with the upper lobe larger than the lower and with the vertebral column prolonged into the upper lobe.

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Etymology of 'Heterocercal'

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heterocercal fin

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"Heterocercal" Quotes from Famous Books

... embryonic condition of the present fishes is recalled by the general disposition of the fins in the fishes of the Old Red Sandstone, and especially by the caudal fin, making the unevenly lobed tail, so characteristic of these ancient forms. This so called heterocercal tail is only known to exist, as a permanent adult feature, in the sturgeons of to-day. The form of the head and the position of the mouth and eyes in the fishes of the Old Red were also shown to be analogous with embryonic ...

— Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence • Louis Agassiz

Words linked to "Heterocercal" : ichthyology, homocercal