Figure 1: Nerve staining in the pectoral fin rays. Figure 2: Fin ray bending resulted in increased activity of the pectoral fin nerves. Figure 3: Nerve activity reflected the speed of fin ray ...

Research on fossilized fish from the late Devonian period, roughly 375 million years ago, details the evolution of fins as they began to transition into limbs fit for walking on land. Much of the ...

A few hundred million years ago, fish fins morphed into the arms and legs of terrestrial animals, according to evolutionary theory. So, you’d think science would know just about everything about them ...

Many fish species evolved parts of their fins into sharp, spiny, needle-like elements -- called fin spines -- that function to protect the fish against predators. Such spines have evolved ...

The human fingertip is a finely tuned sensory machine, and even slight touches convey a great deal of information about our physical environment. It turns out, some fish use their pectoral fins in ...

Two males of the cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni, the model organism used to study spine and soft-ray development in Hoech et al. (Credit: Joost Woltering) Two males of the cichlid fish ...

When tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates) began to move from water to land roughly 390 million years ago it set in motion the rise of lizards, birds, mammals, and all land animals that exist today, ...

Limbs can be incredibly useful. Whether it’s the wing of a bat, the elongated leg of a hopping frog or our own grasping arms, limbs have been adapted to all sorts of ecosystems and functions through ...

Although present in more than 6,000 living species of fish, the adipose fin, a small appendage that lies between the dorsal fin and tail, has no clear function and is thought to be vestigial. A new ...

Segmented hinges in the long, thin bones of fish fins are critical to the incredible mechanical properties of fins, and this design could inspire improved underwater propulsion systems, new robotic ...

Fish fins aren’t just for swimming. They’re feelers, too. The fins of round gobies can detect textures with a sensitivity similar to that of the pads on monkeys’ fingers, researchers report November 3 ...