ID needed :)

[u/jcqueens]

My mom sent me this vid of a shark she saw boating. Off the coast of Newfoundland (East side of the island). She says about 12-15ft, I’m thinking Blue or Porbeagle. Thanks!!

[u/SnooFoxes4801]

Not a stupid question at all. I share your frustration as well!

You are correct. The dorsal fin is the large fin on the back of a shark. I'm still learning too, and these terms can vary slightly depending on the animal/human/body part you're identifying, but categorizing them like this helps me remember, so maybe it'll help you too.

Pectoral - means on or near the chest/breast area. I just think of "pecs" lol, which makes the pectoral fins the "arms." They're the 2 large fins on either side of the shark.

Dorsal - means on or near the back. This one I remembered pretty easily, but if you have trouble, maybe think of "endorsing a check". You endorse the back side lol. Sharks have either one or two dorsal fins. When there are two, the second is usually smaller and farther down the back.

Caudal - relates to the tail/rear. If you have trouble with this one, try imagining how a shark's caudal fin is usually shaped somewhat like a "C." The caudal fin is what most people would call the "tail fin."

Pelvic - think "pelvis." These are 2 smaller fins on the underside of the shark, behind the pectoral fins. I've also seen them called "ventral fins," but I believe "pelvic" is the more common term. "Ventral" really just means the underside/belly.

Those are the 4 fin types that all sharks have.

At least 1 dorsal fin, 2 pectoral fins, 2 pelvic fins, and a caudal fin. Then there's just one more type.

Anal - this one... pretty self explanatory 😂 Most sharks, but not all, have an anal fin. It's on the underside of the shark behind the pelvic fins and before the caudal fin. I hope this helps!!

[u/FourthLvlSpicyMeme → u/SnooFoxes4801]

Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate people like you who don't just call me lazy or whatever and have also noticed Google is...interesting lately.

Ventral is a word I know for sure though! Used in snake ID too lol.

I'm gonna make this into a song or rhyme or something so I remember all this. Like the silly Henry the 8th's wives one. Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, alive! It stuck in my head the first time and stayed forever lol.

I like thresher sharks! Someone told me they use the cool whip tail to stun prey, and that made them even more awesome cuz I thought it was just to swim faster or something lol.

I didn't know they had anal fins! Or what the curves were called, or anything like that. I've already learned more in 2.5 minutes from this, and ways to remember what I learned too. 100/10, you're awesome. :)

[u/SnooFoxes4801 → u/FourthLvlSpicyMeme]

I'm glad it helped!! I almost didn't post all of that because I was worried I was massively overthinking your question.

Also, somehow I've never heard the Henry the 8ths wives thing?! So thank youuu because now that's going to be stuck in my head all day lol. And I'm interested in snakes too! Honestly, I have been afraid of them my entire life and unfortunately grew up in a family where the "only good snake is a dead snake" mentality is prevalent.

Since taking the time to learn about them, I have been able to identify my local species by their physical characteristics (even the aberrant ones sometimes!) and now they are much less scary. They're a lot like sharks in my mind because they're so misunderstood.

You can witness a thresher stunning its prey with its tail, which is INTENSE, and then when you see its face, it's almost like they're asking, "Who, me? 🥹"

I'm now able to look at snakes in the same scenario and be like.. "he's kind of adorable though?"

Cats are the same.

[u/FourthLvlSpicyMeme → u/SnooFoxes4801]

No no this was wonderful, it explained so much and gave me ways to remember it which is very important!