pelvic fin

noun

: one of the paired fins of a fish that are homologous with the hind limbs of a quadruped

Examples of pelvic fin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This species has a distinctive appearance with smooth, scaleless skin and long, filamentous pectoral and pelvic fins that resemble limbs more than typical fins. Scott Travers, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024 Its appearance is somewhat prehistoric, with a broad, flattened head and large, paddle-like pectoral and pelvic fins that give it a somewhat awkward but distinctive swimming style. Scott Travers, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024 The pectoral and pelvic fins on male fish are slightly larger than the female fins, and the base of the anal-fin is straight in females but convex in males, researchers said. Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 22 May 2024 Some scans revealed that Tiktaalik had unexpectedly massive hips (more like Thicctaalik) and a surprisingly big pelvic fin. New York Times, 29 Apr. 2022 The three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, moving their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along, writes Nat Geo’s Douglas Main. National Geographic, 30 Jan. 2020 These three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, and, as their name implies, move their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along the seafloor—or even atop coral reefs, outside the water, at low tide. National Geographic, 23 Jan. 2020 One possible explanation was that the marine sticklebacks had already carried a rare mutation for the loss of the pelvic fin, one that arose in their ancestors. Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019 Adding and subtracting repeats would then have been an easy way to fine-tune the expression of the genes involved in pelvic fin development. Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pelvic fin was in 1882

Dictionary Entries Near pelvic fin

Cite this Entry

“Pelvic fin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pelvic%20fin. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

pelvic fin

noun
: either of a pair of fins of a fish that correspond to the hind limbs of a four-footed animal compare pectoral fin
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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