Question

Are there any vertebrates whose body is streamlined? If yes then explain how it helps them in their movement.

Answer 1

Answer:

• Fishes have streamlined body so that they have less resistance when swimming in water. Birds have a streamlined body to make their flight easier through air. Snakes have streamlined body to help them move forward.

• Auks are well-adapted to underwater swimming. They have compact, streamlined bodies, short wings and very short tails. The feet are placed far back on the body, webbed, with no hind toe; claws are narrow and the tarsus is laterally compressed. The bill is variable in shape and may be highly ornamented in the breeding season. There are 11 primary wing feathers and 16–21 secondaries, the outermost primary being very small and the longest being, usually, the tenth. The feather tracts of the back and belly are continuous and, beneath the contour feathers, down feathers are present and dense all over the body. There are 6–8, occasionally 9, pairs of tail feathers.