Definition of homocercal in English:

adjective

• (of a fish's tail) appearing outwardly symmetrical but with the backbone passing into the upper lobe, as in all higher fish.

  Contrasted with diphycercal, heterocercal

  Example sentences

  • ‘This caudal fin structure contrasts with the externally symmetrical homocercal morphology present in most teleost fishes such as bluegill sunfish.’
  • ‘Generally, osteolepiforms have homocercal, or even trilobate, tail fins.’
  • ‘Both mammals and reptiles returning to the sea developed quite workable homocercal tails in very short order.’
  • ‘The current literature contains several hypotheses about the function of caudal fins of different shapes, and much of this discussion has focused on the difference between heterocercal and homocercal tails.’
  • ‘The tail fin of most ray-finned fish, with the exception of sturgeons and paddlefish, is homocercal, nearly symmetrical about the midline.’