Why are fish fish-shaped? - Lauren Sallan
Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/teded View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-incredible-evolution-of-fish-bodies-lauren-sallan In tropical seas, flying fish...
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In tropical seas, flying fish leap out of the water, gliding for up to 200 meters using wing-like fins, before dipping back into the sea. In the Indo-Pacific, a hunting sailfish can reach speeds of 110 kilometers per hour. That’s 11 times faster than Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps. It can then stick up its spiny dorsal fin like a brake, grinding to a dead halt, mid-swim. Each of these physical feats is made possible by a fish’s form, which in most species is a smooth, elongated body, fins, and a tail. These features are shared across thousands of fish species, each introducing its own variations on the theme to survive in unique habitats. What makes these features so commonplace in fish, and what does it reveal about the more than 33,0...
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In tropical seas, flying fish leap out of the water, gliding for up to 200 meters using wing-like fins, before dipping back into the sea. In the Indo-Pacific, a hunting sailfish can reach speeds of 110 kilometers per hour. That’s 11 times faster than Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps. It can then stick up its spiny dorsal fin like a brake, grinding to a dead halt, mid-swim. Each of these physical feats is made possible by a fish’s form, which in most species is a smooth, elongated body, fins, and a tail. These features are shared across thousands of fish species, each introducing its own variations on the theme to survive in unique habitats. What makes these features so commonplace in fish, and what does it reveal about the more than 33,0...
