Where Is the Heterocercal Tail?

A heterocercal tail is a caudal fin composed of two asymmetrical lobes. Often, such as the case in many sharks, the vertebral column passes through the upper lobe, making it the larger of the two lobes. A heterocercal tail is contrasted with a homocercal tail which has equal lobes.

What is Heterocercal tail in zoology?

Quick Reference. In fish, a tail in which the tip of the vertebral column turns upward, extending into the dorsal lobe of the tail fin; the dorsal lobe is often larger than the ventral lobe.

Do all Chondrichthyes have Heterocercal tails?

As you may have guessed from the name, members of the Chondrichthyes have a cartilaginous skeleton. ... The tail of cartilaginous fish is also distinctive: the tail is divided into two lobes, and the vertebrae extend into the upper lobe, which is elongated past the lower half. Such a tail is called heterocercal.