Buoyancy and hydrostatic balance in a West Indian Ocean coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Buoyancy and balance are important parameters for slow-moving, low-metabolic, aquatic organisms. The extant coelacanths have among the lowest metabolic rates of any living vertebrate and can afford little energy to keep station. Previous observations on living coelacanths support the hypothesis that the coelacanth is neutrally buoyant and in close-to-perfect hydrostatic balance. However, precise measurements of buoyancy and balance at different depths have never been made.  RESULTS: Here we show, using non-invasive imaging, that buoyancy of the coelacanth closely matches its depth distribution. We found that the lipid-filled fatty organ is well suited to support neutral buoyancy, and due to a close-to-perfect hydrostatic balance, simple maneuvers of fins can cause a cons

SUBMITTER: Lauridsen H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9389698 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature