Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Relating to, having, or being a tail fin in which the upper lobe is larger than the lower and the vertebral column extends into the upper lobe, as in sharks.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In ichthyology, having an unequally divided tail or caudal fin. Contrasted with homocercal.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Anat.) Having the vertebral column evidently continued into the upper lobe of the tail, which is usually longer than the lower one, as in sharks.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective ichthyology Of a fish's tail, such that the vertebral column bends and extends upwards into the upper lobe of the tail, making it larger than the lower lobe; as in sharks, rays, and skates.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective possessing a tail with the upper lobe larger than the lower and with the vertebral column prolonged into the upper lobe

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[hetero– + Greek kerkos, tail + –al.]

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