The front flipper of a marine animal like a seal, sea lion, dolphin, or whale, used primarily for steering and maneuvering.
Compound of 'fore-' (front) and 'flipper' (a fin-like appendage). Modern term developed in marine biology and zoology as scientists studied cetaceans and pinnipeds.
A dolphin's foreflippers are actually modified arms with bones similar to human hands—they use them like arms for steering, while their tail flukes do the power, showing how evolution repurposed mammalian limbs for ocean life.
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