l We review here the results obtained during the past several years in a series of computational and experimental investigations aimed at understanding the origin of high-force production in the flapping wings of insects and the flapping and deforming fins of fish and the incorporation of that information into bioinspired vehicle designs. We summarize the results obtained on pectoral fin force ...

The Dlx5 and Dlx6 genes encode homeodomain transcription factors essential for the proper development of limbs in mammalian species. However, the role of their teleost counterparts in fin development has received little attention. Here, we show that dlx5a is an early marker of apical ectodermal cells of the pectoral fin buds and of the median fin fold, but also of cleithrum precursor cells duri...

This paper presents a design of an underwater vehicle mimicking undulating fins of fish. To mimic the actual flexible fin of real fish, a fin-like mechanism is modeled with a series of connecting linkages. By virtue of a specially designed strip, each link is able to turn and slide with respect to the adjacent link. The driving linkages are used to form a mechanical fin consisting of several fi...

During a survey of the Mali Hka River drainage in Hponkanrazi Wildlife Sanctuary in December 2015, a new species was collected and is described herein as Oreoglanis hponkanensis. It is a member of the Oreoglanis siamensis species group and can be distinguished from its congeners in having a unique combination of the following characters: lower lip with median notch and posterior margin entire, ...

Fin ray structure in ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) largely defines fin function. Fin rays convert the muscle activity at the base of the fin to shape changes throughout the external fin web. Despite their critical functional significance, very little is known about the relationship between form and function in this key vertebrate structure. In this study we demonstrate that morphological s...

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...

In Müller, To Appear 2005b I provide evidence that suggests that linearization approaches or approaches that assume flat structures cannot account for the German clause structure in an insightful way. Analyses that make use of discontinuous constituents should therefore be revised. In this paper I develop an analysis of German depictive secondary predicates that differs from the one suggested i...

A new species of seven-spined goby of the genus Chriolepis is described from five specimens collected from the continental shelf of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina in depths of ca 54 to 110 m. The "Platform Goby", Chriolepis prolata, is distinguishable from all other western Atlantic species currently assigned to the genus Chriolepis and the morphologically...