Studies in Animal Locomotion

Abstract

It is well known that certain aquatic vertebrates (notably dolphins and some of the larger teleostean fishes) are able to travel at surprisingly high speeds. The movements performed by such animals during rectilinear locomotion are all of the same type, for the hind end of the body vibrates rhythmically in a plane at right-angles to the axis of locomotion; the plane of vibration of the dolphin is dorso-ventral, whereas that of a fish is transverse to the long axis of the body. In all cases the orientation of the hind end of the body and of the caudal fin, in particular, is such that during both phases of each vibration the leading surface (relative to the direction of the vibration) is inclined at an angle to its own direction of motion through the water and is directed obliquely backwards relative to the head of the animal (Gray, 1933). The anatomical arrangements of the propulsive muscles of a dolphin appear to be simpler than those of a fish, since the locomotory movements are produced by four bands of musculature connected to the base of the caudal fin by strong tendons ; on the ventral side of the vertebral column the two muscle bands extend forward to the region of the diaphragm, whereas the two dorsal bands extend over the whole back of the animal. The weight of the dorsal musculature is approximately twice that of the ventral muscles. The tail is deflected upwards by the contraction of the dorsal muscles and downwards by contraction of the ventral muscles. Reciprocity thus exists between the dorsal and ventral muscle groups, whereas, in a fish, reciprocity of this type is restricted to the right and left musculature of individual segments. Apart from these anatomical differences the propulsive mechanisms of a fish and of a dolphin appear to be of essentially the same type.