Abstract
The trout's tail fin is flexible, yet it propels the trout. It can do so because the flexibility is of a special, limited kind. The tail fin is not simply a sheet of compliant material. Instead it is supported by bony rays, each of which is a flexible girder. These girders can bend in agreement with the hydrodynamic load, but when they do so their structure requires that they steer the fin as a whole in opposition to the load. The fin automatically adjusts its camber so that the shape of the distribution of hydrodynamic load upon it is the same whatever the speed of the fish and whatever the path of the tail fin through the water — unless, as may be the case, parts of the swimming cycle demand a bend sharper than the fin can accomodate. If the latter occurs, cyclic variations in load distribution will result. These may be needed if the tail is to generate the forces required to match the body mechanically at every part of the cycle.
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