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The hammerhead shark's cephalofoil reduces fluid moments during turning motion

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Abstract

Mechanical constraints are one factor that shapes organisms' behavior and morphology. Therefore, elucidating these biomechanics is essential for discovering unknown functions of organisms. The cephalofoil of hammerhead sharks (Sphyrnidae) has long been discussed as representative of the organism's unique morphology and function. While the physiological benefits of cephalofoil are becoming clearer, their kinematic function remains to be elucidated in some areas. Scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) have been shown to receive significant hydrodynamic drag during straight swimming due to cephalofoil. In contrast, S. lewini is known to exhibit excellent turning ability, but the hydrodynamic effects of the cephalopod foil during turning have not been clarified. This study performed a numerical fluid dynamics analysis on a simplified 3D model of a cephalofoil to simulate its turning and swinging behavior. The results show that the cephalofoil shape reduces the moment from the fluid by reducing the separation of the flow during turning. The study also suggested that having a cephalofoil creates a trade-off between the efficiency of swimming straight and the ability to turn. This study contributes to our understanding of the function of the cephalofoil in hammerhead sharks and to a deeper understanding of their ecology.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend special thanks to Kiyonori Nishida, Hiroyuki Murakami, Takahiro Inoda, Yoshikazu Kitadani, and Itsuki Kiyatake (Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN Co., Ltd) for their hospitality and cooperation in the shooting video. Part of the analysis in this study was performed using supercomputing resources at the Cyberscience Center of Tohoku University. This work was supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP23KJ0081.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Division of Science and Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate, 020-8551, Japan

    Yunosuke Obayashi, Hiroaki Sumikawa & Tasuku Miyoshi

  2. Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 5-3-1 Kouzimati, Tiyodaku, Tokyo, 102-0083, Japan

    Hiroaki Sumikawa

Authors
  1. Yunosuke Obayashi
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  2. Hiroaki Sumikawa
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  3. Tasuku Miyoshi
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Correspondence to Hiroaki Sumikawa.

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We declare we have no competing interests.

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This study did not use actual fish and was conducted while observing the Guidelines for the use of fish in research published by the Ichthyological Society of Japan in 2003.

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Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 106 KB)

Supplementary file2: Supplement movie 1: Turn motion of Model II at a turning velocity 8.3 [rad/s] (0.15× speed). (MP4 284 KB)

Supplementary file3: Supplement movie 2: Swing motion of Model II at an angular amplitude π/4 [rad] (0.5× speed). (MP4 547 KB)

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Obayashi, Y., Sumikawa, H. & Miyoshi, T. The hammerhead shark's cephalofoil reduces fluid moments during turning motion. Ichthyol Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-024-00966-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-024-00966-0

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