A guy (fisheries biologist) in a boat forum wrote this:
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=8191&page=3
Quote:
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Why do marine mammals (whales, dolphins, manatees, etc.) have horizontal tails rather than the vertical tails that fish sport? The most obvious explanation is that these mammals breathe surface air, and the horizontal tail is more efficient at moving them up and down in the water column, whereas the fishes' vertical tails allow them greater efficiency at swimming through the water horizontally.
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Although I think there is something to what he claims, fact is whales have a mammal's spine. This means just like when I go in the water it is easier to do a so-called
dolphin kick when keeping the legs together than a side to side body motion.
Perhaps a chiropacter could set this disscussion straight.
