heterocercal

[ het-er-uh-sur-kuh l ]

/ ˌhɛt ər əˈsɜr kəl /

adjective Ichthyology.

having an unequally divided tail, characteristic of sharks, rays, and skates.

Nearby words

heteroatom, heteroauxin, heteroblastic, heterocarpy, heterocellular, heterocercal, heterochlamydeous, heterochromatic, heterochromatin, heterochrome, heterochromia

Compare diphycercal, homocercal.

Origin of heterocercal

1830–40; hetero- + Greek kérk(os) a tail + -al¹

Related formshet·er·o·cer·cal·i·ty

[het-er-oh-ser-kal-i-tee] /ˌhɛt ər oʊ sərˈkæl ɪ ti/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for heterocercal

The tail is diphycercal, heterocercal, or else it degenerates into a whip-like organ, a form which has been called leptocercal.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
The tail may be heterocercal, as in Acipenser, or diphycercal as in Polypterus.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds
In Dipterus there are no marginal teeth, and the tail is heterocercal, not diphycercal, as in the other Dipnoans generally.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
The tail is slender and heterocercal, the caudal fin deeply forked.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan

The heterocercal tail is one in which the hindmost vertebræ are bent upwards.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan

British Dictionary definitions for heterocercal

heterocercal

/ (ˌhɛtərəʊˈsɜːkəl) /

adjective

ichthyol of or possessing a tail in which the vertebral column turns upwards and extends into the upper, usually larger, lobe, as in sharksCompare homocercal

Word Origin for heterocercal

C19: from hetero- + Greek kerkos tail

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012