Telson

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

Finlike structure at the back of many crustaceans

Function:

Escape reaction: Krill can evade predators by very fast backward swimming (lobstering), flipping its telson. They reach speeds of over 60 cm per second. The trigger time to optical stimulus is in spite of the low temperatures only 55 milliseconds.

Part of the tail fan of a crustacean, most obvious on shrimps and lobsters.