What Is a Whale Fluke?

A humpback whale tail breaches the surface near Sydney, Australia
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A whale’s flukes are distinctive and important parts of its anatomy--and some of the most commonly seen by observers in a boat or the shore.

The Flukes

Blue whale off the coast of Mexico
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A whale’s flukes are its tail fins, which are composed of flesh and not anchored by skeletal anatomy. In all species, they are flattened horizontally.

The Peduncle

Beluga whale at the New York Aquarium
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The portion of the whale’s body that tapers to the flukes is called the caudal peduncle. This powerful tail stock is usually proportionately narrow, likely an adaptation to reduce resistance for the swimming whale.

Propulsion

Humpback whale and diver underwater
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The muscles of the peduncle are the engine for the whale’s forward motion: The tail surges up and down in undulating fashion, and the flukes thus propel the animal ahead.

Shape

Pod of Sperm whales off the coast of Sri Lanka
••• ShaneGross/iStock/Getty Images

The flukes of the great whales vary in shape. Those of sperm whales, for example, describe a triangle with their rear edge straight. A humpback whale’s flukes are broader, more slender and concave.

Identification

Humpback whale tail
••• Fuse/Fuse/Getty Images

Whale researchers often use the irregularities of a whale’s fluke--easy to see from the surface when the animal is sounding--to distinguish between individual whales.

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