Why Don’t Fish Have Necks? Exploring the Reasons Behind Fish Anatomy

KOMPAS.com – Fish have fins and gills, but no neck. It turns out there are several reasons why fish don’t have necks.

Ted Daeschler, curator of paleontology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia explained that fish don’t have necks because it would make it difficult for them to swim quickly with a wobbling neck in the water.

Moreover, anything that is called a fish does not have a neck by definition. When a fish-like creature develops a neck, it is classified as another type of animal.

Instead of a neck, the fish has a series of bones that connect the skull to the shoulder girdle which attaches to the fins.

“The shoulder girdle is the bony elements, such as the clavicle and scapula, that support the front appendages, whether they are fins or legs. And in fish they are not connected together, but are one solid bony surface,” explains Daeschler.

Over time, some fish begin to change shape, such as lobe-finned fish. According to the fossil record, lobe-finned fish lost over time some of the bones that connect the shoulder to the skull.

Also read: Why Do Fish in the Deep Sea Look Like Aliens?

Fish with a neck

Nevertheless, scientists have described a fish that has a neck.

Quoted from Live Science, Monday (24/7/2023) the fish that was recorded as having a neck was Tiktaalik roseae, a creature that lived around 375 million years ago, during the Devonian period.

Scientists describe T.roseae as part of the fish, which is part of the tetrapods.

The researchers themselves consider T.roseae, which can grow up to 2.7 meters in length, to be a lobe-finned fish.

However, this fish instead developed a neck that likely helped it hunt in shallow freshwater environments.

“The neck allowed the head to move independently of the body (ancient fish). That was good if living in shallow and swampy areas, where animals need to turn their heads quickly to catch prey or breathe,” said Daeschler.

Also read: Why Do Whales Like to Jump to the Surface of the Water?

In contrast, without a neck, a fish has to move its entire body to turn its head in a certain direction.

However, the actual description of T.roseae as a fish is questionable and remains a gray area because a lineage of lobe-finned fish later evolved into four-legged amphibians.

Despite the debate, necked animals have the unique advantage of being able to quickly orient their mouths without having to move their entire body.

However, there are also many fish that are predators and they manage to be without a neck.

“The idea of ​​a long, flexible neck doesn’t apply if it lives in water. The head will be thrown to the side under the pressure, so it’s better (the fish) don’t have a neck and just swim forward,” added Daeschler.

Also read: Why Do Orca Whales Sink Ships?

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2023-07-24 12:30:00
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