Swimming movements in boxfishes were much more complex and varied than classical descriptions indicated. At low to moderate rectilinear swimming speeds (<5 TL s(-1), where TL is total body length), they were entirely median- and paired-fin swimmers, apparently using their caudal fins for steering. The pectoral and median paired fins generate both the thrust needed for forward motion and the con...

Studies of the kinematics of the pectoral fins in fishes have focused on fins as devices for propulsion or maneuvering. Studying pectoral fin function in benthic fishes is an opportunity to understand how the fins are used in a broader range of fin-based behaviors, especially those involving substrate contact. Morphological specializations of the pectoral fins, hypothesized adaptations for subs...

Ray-finned fishes actively control the shape and orientation of their fins to either generate or resist hydrodynamic forces. Because of the emergent mechanical properties of their segmented, bilaminar fin rays (lepidotrichia), and actuation by multiple muscles, fish can control the rigidity and curvature of individual rays independently, thereby varying the resultant forces across the fin surfa...

Two species of dwarfgoby are described from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Eviota flebilis n. sp. belongs to cephalic sensory-pore system pattern 2 (lacking only IT pore), has a dorsal/anal fin-ray formula of 8/7, unbranched pectoral-fin rays, the 5th pelvic-fin ray 12.9% of the 4th, a distinctive narrow, red-orange line under the eye, and a dark vertical line at the caudal-fin base. Eviota specca ...

A new species of nemacheilid loach, Triplophysa longliensis, is described from Yudonghe River, a small tributary of Pearl River in Guizhou Province, China. It can be distinguished from other valid Triplophysa loaches by the following combination of characters: body smooth and scaleless; head tapering; lips thin and smooth; posterior chamber of gas bladder highly developed, long, bag-shaped, tip...

Zebrafish fins have a proximal skeleton of endochondral bones and a distal skeleton of dermal bones. Recent experimental and genetic studies are discovering mechanisms to control fin skeleton morphogenesis. Whereas the endochondral skeleton has been extensively studied, the formation of the dermal skeleton requires further revision. The shape of the dermal skeleton of the fin is generated in it...

The median fins in extant actinopterygians are the product of millions of years of evolution. During this time, different developmental patterns for the dorsal and anal fins emerged leading to a high variation in median fin morphology and ontogeny. In this study, the development of anal and dorsal fins in atheriniforms is described and its consequences for the current phylogenetic hypothesis ar...

A FIN-learning machine M receives successive values of the function f it is learning and at some moment outputs a conjecture which should be a correct index of f. FIN learning has 2 extensions: (1) If M ips fair coins and learns a function with certain probability p, we have FIN hpi-learning. (2) When n machines simultaneously try to learn the same function f and at least k of these machines ou...

This paper describes the modeling and control development of a bio-inspired unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) propelled by four pectoral fins. Based on both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental fin data, we develop a UUV model that focuses on an accurate representation of the fin-generated forces. Models of these forces span a range of controllable fin parameters, as well as take...

Robotic fish accomplish swimming by deforming their bodies or other fin-like appendages. As an emerging class of embedded computing system, robotic fish are anticipated to play an important role in environmental monitoring, inspection of underwater structures, tracking of hazardous wastes and oil spills, and the study of live fish behaviors. While integration of flexible materials (into the fin...