rekordy: Flying fish

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

The Exocoetidae are a family of saltwater ray-finned fish in the order Beloniformes, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod, with about 64 species in seven genera. While they do not "fly" in the same way a bird does, flying fish can make powerful leaps out of the water where their long, wing-like paired fins act as aerofoils to generate lift and enable prolonged gliding for considerable distances above the water surface. The main reason for this behavior is thought to be to escape from underwater predators, which include swordfish, mackerel, tuna, and marlin, among others, though their periods of flight expose them to attack by aerial predators such as frigatebirds. Barbados is kno…

Evidence: 60 • authority: 88

Aerodynamic characteristics of flying fish in gliding flight. SUMMARY The flying fish (family Exocoetidae) is an exceptional marine flying vertebrate, utilizing the advantages of moving in two different media, i.e. swimming in water and flying in air. Despite some physical limitations by moving in both water and air, the flying fish has evolved to have good aerodynamic designs (such as the hypertrophied fins and cylindrical body with a ventrally flattened surface) for proficient gliding flight. Hence, the morphological and behavioral adaptations of flying fish to aerial locomotion have attracted great interest from various fields including biology and aerodynamics. Several aspects of the fl…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 88

Platform development and gliding optimization of a robotic flying fish with morphing pectoral fins. Abstract The aquatic-aerial robot with the free interface crossing can enhance adaptability in complex aquatic environments. However, its design is extremely challenging for the striking discrepancies in propulsion principles. The flying fish in nature exhibits remarkable multi-modal cross-domain locomotion capability, such as high-maneuvers swimming, agile water-air crossing, and long-distance gliding, providing extensive inspiration. In this paper, we present a unique aquatic-aerial robotic flying fish with powerful propulsion and a pair of morphing wing-like pectoral fins to realize cross-…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

A number of animals are capable of aerial locomotion, either by active flight, passive gliding or, in rare occasions, ballooning, also known as kiting. Such animals typically have appendages that interact with air to generate lift in order to overcome the weight of their own body and any payload they are carrying (e.g. food, prey or nesting materials). The majority of flying and glide animals are terrestrial, although species from one extant taxon, the flying fish, are aquatic. The ability to fly or glide has appeared via convergent evolution many times throughout the history of life. Wing-powered flight has evolved prominently in at least four terrestrial clades: pterygote insects, pterosa…

Evidence: 50 • authority: 72

Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and lift, which help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct articulations with the axial skeleton and are attached to the core only via muscles and ligaments. Fish fins are highly distinctive anatomical features with varying internal structures among different clades: in ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii), fins are mainly composed of spreading bony spines or "rays" covered by a thin stretch of scaleless skin, resembling a folding fan; in lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) such as coelacanths and lungfish, fins are short rays based around a muscular central…

Evidence: 44 • authority: 92

Numerical Analysis of the Aerodynamic Interactions in Tandem Flying Snake Airfoils.. During gliding, flying snakes flatten their ribs to create an airfoil-like cross-section and adopt S-shape postures, allowing upstream body segments to generate wake structures that affect the aerodynamic performance of downstream segments. This study investigates these interactions using numerical simulations of two-dimensional snake cross-sectional airfoils. By employing an immersed-boundary-method-based incompressible flow solver with tree topological local mesh refinement, various foil positions and movements were analyzed. The results show that aligning the downstream foil with the upstream foil reduce…

Evidence: 39 • authority: 92

Bioinspired Morphing in Aerodynamics and Hydrodynamics: Engineering Innovations for Aerospace and Renewable Energy.. Bioinspired morphing offers a powerful route to higher aerodynamic and hydrodynamic efficiency. Birds reposition feathers, bats extend compliant membrane wings, and fish modulate fin stiffness, tailoring lift, drag, and thrust in real time. To capture these advantages, engineers are developing airfoils, rotor blades, and hydrofoils that actively change shape, reducing drag, improving maneuverability, and harvesting energy from unsteady flows. This review surveys over 296 studies, with primary emphasis on literature published between 2015 and 2025, distilling four biological a…

Evidence: 36 • authority: 72

Certain species of fish and birds are able to locomote in both air and water, two fluid media with very different properties. A fluid is a particular phase of matter that deforms under shear stresses and includes any type of liquid or gas. Because fluids are easily deformable and move in response to applied forces, efficiently locomoting in a fluid medium presents unique challenges. Specific morphological characteristics are therefore required in animal species that primarily depend on fluidic locomotion. Because the properties of air and water are so different, swimming and flying have very disparate morphological requirements. As a result, despite the large diversity of animals that are c…

Evidence: 36 • authority: 92

Function of the tail in myliobatid rays: role in controlling body stability.. Eagle rays, cownose rays and manta rays are the only batoid families exhibiting oscillatory locomotion, and are characterized by long, slender tails. This study investigates whether tail length influences body stability when the pectoral fins are held in an extended, static position. We measured relative tail lengths across the four families (Rhinopteridae, Myliobatidae, Aetobatidae and Mobulidae), finding that spotted eagle rays have the longest tails (greater than 4× body length (BL)), while giant manta rays have the shortest (approx. 0.9× BL). To test the effects of tail length on posture and stability, we used…

Evidence: 34 • authority: 80

Feasibility study on mimicking the tail-beating supported gliding flight of flying fish

Evidence: 34 • authority: 72

Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust; the term volplaning also refers to this mode of flight in animals. It is employed by gliding animals and by aircraft such as gliders. This mode of flight involves flying a significant distance horizontally compared to its descent and therefore can be distinguished from a mostly straight downward descent like a round parachute. Although the human application of gliding flight usually refers to aircraft designed for this purpose, most powered aircraft are capable of gliding without engine power. As with sustained flight, gliding generally requires the application of an airfoil, such as the wings on aircraft or birds, or the…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Fin and flipper locomotion occurs mostly in aquatic locomotion, (and rarely in terrestrial locomotion) of nektonic animals with paired appendages, more specifically aquatic vertebrates (fish and marine tetrapods) and most coleoids. These appendages have a large wetted area that interacts with water like paddles and/or hydrofoils to propel, steer and maintain postural control/balance of the body during locomotion. Some semi-aquatic animals with land-dwelling limbs also have webbed feet that are analogous to fins and flippers. While most aquatic animals utilize body-caudal, flagellal and/or jet propulsion for locomotion in water, some rely on flapping movements of paired appendages — particul…