pelvic fin
noun
: one of the paired fins of a fish that are homologous with the hind limbs of a quadruped
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Some scans revealed that Tiktaalik had unexpectedly massive hips (more like Thicctaalik) and a surprisingly big pelvic fin. 
New York Times, 29 Apr. 2022 The three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, moving their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along, writes Nat Geo’s Douglas Main. National Geographic, 30 Jan. 2020 These three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, and, as their name implies, move their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along the seafloor—or even atop coral reefs, outside the water, at low tide. National Geographic, 23 Jan. 2020 One possible explanation was that the marine sticklebacks had already carried a rare mutation for the loss of the pelvic fin, one that arose in their ancestors. Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019 Adding and subtracting repeats would then have been an easy way to fine-tune the expression of the genes involved in pelvic fin development. Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019 Their pelvic fins have been modified into a sucking disk. Rachel Becker, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2018 Some have looked at coelacanths and sarcopterygians, or lungfish (the latter use their pelvic fins to move in a motion like walking). Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 9 Feb. 2018 Typically, these pectoral and pelvic fins — which correspond to forelimbs and hindlimbs in land vertebrates — are small and largely used for balance and steering. Steph Yin, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2018 See More
New York Times, 29 Apr. 2022 The three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, moving their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along, writes Nat Geo’s Douglas Main. National Geographic, 30 Jan. 2020 These three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, and, as their name implies, move their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along the seafloor—or even atop coral reefs, outside the water, at low tide. National Geographic, 23 Jan. 2020 One possible explanation was that the marine sticklebacks had already carried a rare mutation for the loss of the pelvic fin, one that arose in their ancestors. Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019 Adding and subtracting repeats would then have been an easy way to fine-tune the expression of the genes involved in pelvic fin development. Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019 Their pelvic fins have been modified into a sucking disk. Rachel Becker, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2018 Some have looked at coelacanths and sarcopterygians, or lungfish (the latter use their pelvic fins to move in a motion like walking). Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 9 Feb. 2018 Typically, these pectoral and pelvic fins — which correspond to forelimbs and hindlimbs in land vertebrates — are small and largely used for balance and steering. Steph Yin, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
1882, in the meaning defined above