Dorsal fin

The Squalus acanthus is nicknamed the dog fish because they are known to feed in packs which is similar to the habits of dogs, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website. These sharks are classified as chondrichthyes (“Squalus Acanthias”). According to the article Spiny Dogfish, the dogfish’s relatives include the Pygmy shark and the Sleeper shark. The Squalus acanthus has an endoskeleton skeleton type. They live in the interdial zone up to 900 meters deep. The dogfish sharks swim in water…

captivity have collapsed dorsal fins, but in the wild less than 1% of orcas have collapsed dorsal fins. The small tank does not allow the orcas to be very deep for a long period of time, so they are swimming with their fins above the surface a lot. The gravity acts on their dorsal fins and causes them to look droopy and collapse. In the wild the whales are able to swim a lot deeper and their fins aren’t affected by gravity (Cowperthwaite, 2013). Everyone notices the droopy fins that the orcas…

A Killer Whale’s dorsal fin is located in the middle of their back and it does not have a bone, but instead is made up of tissue called collagen. It is a vital part of them because it helps them make sharp turns quick and allows them to ventilate the warm air and water away…

swim 1208 laps around the perimeter or 3,105 lengths in the park’s largest tank to equal what they would swim in the wild. (“Tanks”) Since adult male orcas have no space to swim freely, orcas have collapsed dorsal fins. Orcas are also fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish. (“Collapsed Dorsal Fins”) Orcas are unable to hunt and obtain water from their prey in captivity. SeaWorld gives them gelatin, a substance that is not natural for them, in an attempt to keep them hydrated. Gelatin is a…

The Pacific leaping blenny is a small fish found on the tropical island of Guam. Its scientific name is Alticus arnoldorum and it has made one of the most tremendous ecological transitions over time. The Pacific leaping blenny effectively established its population on land through an evolved variety of adaptations, such as: the ability to move efficiently on land and being able to perform respiration through its skin while still relying on its gills. The fish are limited to the “splash zones” of…

For example; the collapsed dorsal fin. Mainly the male orca whales in captivity have a collapsed fin. According to the Free Morgan Foundation, “...which is a sign of injured or unhealthy” (Collapsed Dorsal Fins). Many of the whales have sunburn, but Seaworld covers it up with black zinc oxide. The dorsal fin is used to help the whales swim faster in the ocean but due to the less water pressure at SeaWorld it is caused…

Time for SeaWorld to Throw in the Towel How would you like to live your whole life in a bathtub? Well, that is how the orcas at SeaWorld live. SeaWorld has been wrongfully containing and mistreating animals since the early 1960’s. Orcas are natural predators and do not belong in captivity (National Geographic 1). Yet, SeaWorld chooses to keep twenty-three of them in their three parks in the United States (Whale and Dolphin Conservation 2). SeaWorld does not only wrongfully contain orcas,…

rounded shape. They could be used to steer and stop. The size of pectoral flippers could reach two meters long and one meters wide in male. A female’s pectoral flippers were smaller. Killer whales’ dorsal fin were curved towards the back, and could reach to 1.8 meters in height. The location of dorsal fin was in the middle of the…

blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus), though they possess similar attributes but also different species of shark. The blacktip reef shark is famous for the black tips on its fin which also makes it to be easily identified, also known as black wing shark. As its name says, blacktip reef shark's pectoral fin tip and dorsal fin are black, while the lower part is white, that is why it is considered to be one of the sea beauties. Their front’s tip is blunt circular. Their length is highest at 2.9…

As a child, I remember pressing my face against the TV being in absolute awe when I saw a SeaWorld commercial with the infamous Shamu jumping out of the crystal clear water. Years later I look back at my foolish innocence and open my eyes to what really happens behind the closed gates of SeaWorld. Shamu and other orcas alike are put on a spectacle with lights, music, and talented trainers for the smiles and laughter of the audience and used as a ticket selling mechanism for the…