flipper

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flipper

zoology

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June 26, 2026

Quick Summary

A flipper is a broad, flat limb adapted for swimming, found in marine animals like seals and cetaceans. These animals, such as whales, dolphins, seals, and manatees, are mammals that live in the ocean and have evolved specialized adaptations for aquatic life. Their forelimbs have transformed into flippers, with shortened bones and no individual fingers, aiding in steering. While hind limbs are entirely lost in most marine mammals, flippers are crucial for their movement through water. The term "flipper" can also refer to a paddle-like shoe used in activities like snorkeling.123

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cetacean
Locomotor adaptations
…but are reduced to finlike flippers having shortened arm bones and no individual fingers. The hind limbs are lost entirely; only vestigial elements sometimes remain internally. Pelvic remnants occur in all cetacea but the dwarf and pygmy sperm whales. Flippers help to steer, while the back muscles, which are very…
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…but are reduced to finlike flippers having shortened arm bones and no individual fingers. The hind limbs are lost entirely; only vestigial elements sometimes remain internally. Pelvic remnants occur in all cetacea but the dwarf and pygmy sperm whales. Flippers help to steer, while the back muscles, which are very…
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locomotion
Tetrapodal vertebrates
…forelegs, which have become bladelike flippers in which the forearm and hand region are dorsoventrally compressed to form a single, inflexible unit. The movements of such flippers are analogous to the aerial flight of birds; by moving synchronously, they provide lift and thrust in the water. Unlike aerial flight, however,…
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…forelegs, which have become bladelike flippers in which the forearm and hand region are dorsoventrally compressed to form a single, inflexible unit. The movements of such flippers are analogous to the aerial flight of birds; by moving synchronously, they provide lift and thrust in the water. Unlike aerial flight, however,…
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penguin
Locomotion and orientation
…in which the wings, or flippers, are used for propulsion; the birds “fly” underwater. When moving at high speed, they frequently leave the water in leaps that may carry them a metre or more through the air; it is during this time that they breathe.
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…in which the wings, or flippers, are used for propulsion; the birds “fly” underwater. When moving at high speed, they frequently leave the water in leaps that may carry them a metre or more through the air; it is during this time that they breathe.
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seal
Seal diversity
Because the hind flippers cannot be moved forward, these seals propel themselves on land by wriggling on their bellies or pulling themselves forward with their front limbs. Eared seals, on the other hand, rely mainly on a rowing motion of their front flippers for propulsion. Because they are…
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Because the hind flippers cannot be moved forward, these seals propel themselves on land by wriggling on their bellies or pulling themselves forward with their front limbs. Eared seals, on the other hand, rely mainly on a rowing motion of their front flippers for propulsion. Because they are…
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