When it's hip to be square

The square shape of the seahorse tail helps it resist mechanical deformation [Also see Research Article by Porter et al. ] Most animals and plants approximate a cylinder in shape, and where junctions occur (as with branches of trees or limbs on animals), those corners are “faired,” meaning smoothly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2015-07, Vol.349 (6243), p.30-31
Main Author: Ashley-Ross, Miriam A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomy & physiology
Animal populations
Animals
Biomechanics
Corners
Cross sections
Curved
Cylinders
Fish
Norms
Three dimensional models
Three dimensional printing
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:The square shape of the seahorse tail helps it resist mechanical deformation [Also see Research Article by Porter et al. ] Most animals and plants approximate a cylinder in shape, and where junctions occur (as with branches of trees or limbs on animals), those corners are “faired,” meaning smoothly curved so that one surface grades into the next ( 1 ). When living organisms deviate from the norm, there's usually a good biomechanical reason: a clue to some specific problem that needs to be solved. Among their suite of unusual characteristics, seahorses possess a true oddity: a prehensile tail with a square, rather than round or elliptical, cross-sectional shape. On page 10.1126/science.aaa6683 of this issue, Porter et al. ( 2 ) report that there are distinct mechanical advantages to being square. Using three-dimensional (3D) printing to construct physical models, the team demonstrates that the multiplated anatomy of the square seahorse tail shows greater resistance to mechanical deformation than a similar model that has a round cross section.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aab1508