Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Chondrichthyes Locomotion

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

  • 82 Accesses

Synonyms

Ray locomotion; Shark locomotion; Skate locomotion

Definition

Movement used by sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras to traverse their environment.

The class Chondrichthyes is comprised of sharks, rays, skates, and chimeras. They are among the oldest jawed vertebrate fish (de Bellard 2016). Chondrichthyans are classified as cartilaginous fish because they lack boney structures and instead contain a partially calcified cartilaginous skeletal structure. Historically over 1,200 species have been identified globally, dating as far back as 400–450 million years. The Chondrichthyes class is further divided into two subclasses: Elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish) and Holocephali (chimaeras, or ghost sharks). The Elasmobranchii are further subdivided into Selachii, or sharks, and Batoidea, including skates and rays (Crooks 2019) (Fig. 1). Chondrichthyes have adapted to a variety of water systems globally, including marine and freshwater, and their feeding behavior...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bixler, G. D., & Bhushan, B. (2013). Fluid drag reduction with shark-skin riblet inspired microstructured surfaces. Advanced Functional Materials, 23(36), 4507–4528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breder, C. M. (1926). The locomotion of fishes. Zoologica; Scientific Contributions of the New York Zoological Society, 4, 159–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Combes, S. A., & Daniel, T. L. (2001). Shape, flapping and flexion: Wing and fin design for forward flight. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 204(12), 2073–2085.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crooks, N. (2019). Chondrichthyes diet. In J. Vonk & T. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of animal cognition and behavior (pp. 1–11). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Bellard, M. E. (2016). Myelin in cartilaginous fish. Brain Research, 1641(Pt A), 34–42.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Domel, A. G., Saadat, M., Weaver, J. C., Haj-Hariri, H., Bertoldi, K., & Lauder, G. V. (2018). Shark skin-inspired designs that improve aerodynamic performance. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 15(139), 20170828.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fontanella, J. E., Fish, F. E., Barchi, E. I., Campbell-Malone, R., Nichols, R. H., DiNenno, N. K., & Beneski, J. T. (2013). Two- and three-dimensional geometries of batoids in relation to locomotor mode. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 446, 273–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, K. L., & Higham, T. E. (2010). How to build a pectoral fin: Functional morphology and steady swimming kinematics of the spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 88(8), 774–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frisk, M. G. (2010). Life history strategies of batoids. In J. C. Carrier, J. A. Musick, & M. R. Heithaus (Eds.), Chapter for Biology of sharks and their relatives, Vol. 2.: Physiological adaptations, behavior, ecology, conservation and management of sharks and their relatives (p. 713). Boca Raton: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, K. C., Hundt, P. J., Swenson, J. D., Summers, A. P., & Crow, K. D. (2018). The evolution of underwater flight: The redistribution of pectoral fin rays, in manta rays and their relatives (Myliobatidae). Journal of Morphology, 279(8), 1155–1170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Higham, T. E., Seamone, S. G., Arnold, A., Toews, D., Janmohamed, Z., Smith, S. J., & Rogers, S. M. (2018). The ontogenetic scaling of form and function in the spotted ratfish, Hydrolagus colliei (Chondrichthyes: Chimaeriformes): Fins, muscles, and locomotion. Journal of Morphology, 279(10), 1408–1418.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hildebrand, M. (1989). The Quadrupedal Gaits of Vertebrates: The timing of leg movements relates to balance, body shape, agility, speed, and energy expenditure. Bioscience, 39(11), 766–775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jung, H., Baek, M., D’Elia, K. P., Boisvert, C., Currie, P. D., Tay, B.-H., Venkatesh, B., Brown, S. M., Heguy, A., Schoppik, D., & Dasen, J. S. (2018). The ancient origins of neural substrates for land walking. Cell, 172(4), 667–682.e15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.01.013.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kajiura, S. M., & Tellman, S. L. (2016). Quantification of massive seasonal aggregations of blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) in Southeast Florida. PLoS One, 11(3), e0150911.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, G., Ren, Y., Zhu, J., Bart-Smith, H., & Dong, H. (2015). Thrust producing mechanisms in ray-inspired underwater vehicle propulsion. Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Letters, 5(1), 54–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macesic, L. J., & Kajiura, S. M. (2010). Comparative punting kinematics and pelvic fin musculature of benthic batoids. Journal of Morphology, 271(10), 1219–1228. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.10865.

  • Macesic, L. J., Mulvaney, D., & Blevins, E. L. (2013). Synchronized swimming: Coordination of pelvic and pectoral fins during augmented punting by the freshwater stingray Potamotrygon orbignyi. Zoology, 116(3), 144–150.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pridmore, E. A. (1994). Submerged walking in the epaulette shark Hemiscyllium ocellatum (Hemiscyllidae) and its implications for locomotion in rhipidistian fishes and early tetrapods. Zoology, 98, 278–297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Priede, I. G., Froese, R., Bailey, D. M., Bergstad, O. A., Collins, M. A., Dyb, J. E., et al. (2006). The absence of sharks from abyssal regions of the world’s oceans. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 273(1592), 1435–1441.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberger, L. J. (2001). Pectoral fin locomotion in batoid fishes: Undulation versus oscillation. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 204, 379–394.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberger, L. J., & Westneat, M. W. (1999). Functional morphology of undulatory pectoral fin locomotion in the stingray taeniura lymma (Chondrichthyes: Dasyatidae). The Journal of Experimental Biology, 202(24), 3523–3539.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Russo, R. S., Blemker, S. S., Fish, F. E., & Bart-Smith, H. (2015). Biomechanical model of batoid (skates and rays) pectoral fins predicts the influence of skeletal structure on fin kinematics: Implications for bio-inspired design. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 10(4), 046002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, K. (1976). On the heterocercal tail in sharks. Paleobiology, 2(1), 19–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, K. S., & Simanek, D. E. (1977). Body form and locomotion in sharks. American Zoologist, 17, 343–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treberg, J. R., & Speers-Roesch, B. (2016). Does the physiology of chondrichthyan fishes constrain their distribution in the deep sea? The Journal of Experimental Biology, 219(5), 615–625.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Webb, P. W. (1994). Chapter: The biology of fish swimming. In L. Maddock, Q. Bone, & J. M. V. Rayner (Eds.), The mechanics and physiology of animal swimming (pp. 45–62). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wilga, C. D., & Lauder, G. V. (2000). Three-dimensional kinematics and wake structure of the pectoral fins during locomotion in the leopard shark, Triakis semifasciata. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 203, 2261–2278.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilga, C. D., & Lauder, G. V. (2002). Function of the heterocercal tail in sharks: Quantitative wake dynamics during steady horizontal swimming and vertical maneuvering. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 205, 2365–2374.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, USA

    Tyler J. Wilson, Anthony Piché & May Ali

  2. Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Michael C. Granatosky

  3. Department of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY, USA

    Michael C. Granatosky

Authors
  1. Tyler J. Wilson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anthony Piché
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. May Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michael C. Granatosky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael C. Granatosky .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Khalil Iskarous

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Wilson, T.J., Piché, A., Ali, M., Granatosky, M.C. (2022). Chondrichthyes Locomotion. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1013

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation