History Main / TailfinWalking

* This is an explicit rule of mermaids in ''Anime/OnePiece.'' Around age thirty their tail fin splits in two enabling walking on land (among [[TheMermaidProblem other things]]). They're also capable of moving around on their tailfins, however.

[[folder:Commercials]]
* Advertising/CharlieTheTuna from the [=StarKist=] commercials.
* Averted with the golden Thailand-styled mermen in [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3eefqGXpI_M this bizarre Toyota commercial]] where they seem to jump around on their "knees" (or more accurately, the middle part of their tails) in a very awkward and unrealistic way.
* The mermaid in [[http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/rtmtv-last-straw-youll-ever-need this ad for an eco-friendly straw]] seems to just float a few inches off the ground with her tail fin trailing.
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* The Pun-fisher, the version of ComicBook/ThePunisher in the ''ComicBook/SpiderHam'' universe, walks around on his tailfins.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* The fish in ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' sometimes walk on their tailfins, but they stay underwater the whole time.
** This is averted with the shark characters, however, who sometimes sit or float upright, but always swim in a horizontal posture when moving around.

* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift''. Flynn, the seal, doesn't walk, he moves by slithering and flopping along [[TruthInTelevision much like real seals do on land]] (though he does so upright).

* Fish from ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'', being a [[LiteralMetaphor literal]] FishOutOfWater, walks around on land on his tail fin.
* The Humming-Fish from the animated film adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lorax|2012}}'', just as with their book counterparts.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* Zigra from ''Film/GameraVsZigra'' is an alien {{Kaiju}} resembling a goblin shark that seems to be this trope after Gamera battles him on land. However, given the sudden cuts between [[SpecialEffectFailure the puppet Zigra with a tail and the suitmation Zigra with legs]] it's unclear whether this is a canon ability or just a limitation of the filmmaking.

* An OlderThanRadio example appears in ''Through the Looking-Glass'' (Creator/LewisCarroll's sequel to ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'') when Tweedledum and Tweedledee recite "The Walrus and the Carpenter" to Alice. John Tenniel's illustrations depict the walrus walking like this, complete with a ''shoe'' on each tailfin.
* Mr. Shark in ''Literature/TheBadGuys'' is seen walking this way in illustrations when not in the water. Mr. Piranha, on the other hand, simply drags himself around.

* Marino the Merman from ''Bust-A-Move 4'' is shown standing on his tail in the "U-pose" when on land, and though he is never seen walking he does jump up and down on his tail in a level victory.

* The Franchise/{{Pokemon}} [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Popplio, Brionne and Primarina]] don't walk on their tail fins, but they can stand up for a few seconds; this is mostly seen when Primarina uses its signature move. Later, [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Palafin]]'s Hero form does stand like this on land, to affect the [[HeroicBuild V-shaped body]] of a traditional comicbook superhero.
* The undines of ''Yggdra Union'' are shown in the "U-pose" when standing, and to move just lurch forward [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/deptheaven/images/f/fb/Undine_Sprite.gif/revision/latest?cb=20120616002907 on their 'knees'.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', during the rain, goldfishes start walking around on their tailfins. But ''only'' during the rain; when there's no rain, they just flop on the ground.
* Also averted with Nami from ''League of Legends'', with her "kneeling" and floating on her tail whenever she's on land.
* Mermaids from ''Wildlife Park 2'' can swim in water, but can also come onto land and slither around upright.

* The tribbets from ''Website/{{Serina}}'' are a variant, being mudskipper-like fish that use their pectoral fins and tail as three walking limbs. Their descendants, the hoppers, turn their tail into a true jointed leg with the foot derived from their tail fin, eventually the hoppers give rise to the tribbetheres, the FantasticFaunaCounterpart to mammals that have three legs, with the single hind leg looking nearly indistinguishable from a mammal's leg.

* Kenny and the other fish characters in ''WesternAnimation/KennyTheShark'' walk on their tailfins on land.

* In one of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''' WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror episodes, the dolphins who took over the earth walked on their tail flukes when on land.
* Dr. Blowhole from ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' stands on his tail flukes and moves around on a scooter but he cannot walk.
* WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}, as seen in the page pic, is a shark that walks upright on his tail fin. One-shot character Francine Lafinn can walk on her tailfin, too. Commander Shark's army of shark-human hybrids are apparently supposed to be able to do this by design, but only Shelly and Clamhead (transformed into sharks themselves) are actually shown walking on land.

* WesternAnimation/{{Misterjaw}} and Catfish often did this whenever they were on land.

* The [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Warner Bros. cartoon]] "Sport Chumpions" had a female competitive swimmer win the trophy, we pull back, revealing her to be a mermaid, and she walks away by tip-toeing on her tail fin.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animalympics}}'' has the dolphin Mark Spritz and the orca Ono Nono stand and walk on their flukes.
* The water-fearing mermaid in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' was guilty of this on occasion, though most of the time she slithered like a snake instead when on land. Averted with the older mermaid who was Jake's principal, who hid her tail by using a wheelchair.

* The fish in ''WesternAnimation/FishHooks'' all stand and walk this way. And yes, their tails look absolutely ''nothing'' like actual fish tails at all!
* Narwhal on ''WesternAnimation/AlmostNakedAnimals''.
* Sally the fish on ''WesternAnimation/ScaredySquirrel'' plays this straight, although she also averts [[FeatherFingers Fin Fingers]].
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' featured an ImagineSpot where Buster Baxter envisions himself as a fish-based supervillain who lives inside a space station shaped like a giant crab, and plans to take over the world by hypnotizing fish so that they do this to "eat land people."
* Played with with Darwin the goldfish from ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball''; Darwin's grew actual legs and feet right about where pelvic fins would be on a real fish.
* [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Marina]] from ''WesternAnimation/ZigAndSharko'' does this whenever she's on land. (Maybe intended as a poke at this, in the episode "Fancy Footwork", she actually has a ''harder'' time standing and walking on her magically-granted legs than she normally does on her tailfin)

* [[TheBully Bull Sharkowski]] and [[InsufferableGenius Phineas Porpoise]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey'' walk on their tails, which is a little strange in the show as all the other fish and cetacean students and teachers are unable to do so.
* Most fish characters from ''WesternAnimation/SharkyAndGeorge'' either walk on their tailfins, or swim just above the sea bottom.
* Shark from ''WesternAnimation/WordWorld''.
* In a couple of times in ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero'', Penn and his friends turn themselves into mer-people. They usually avert this trope when on land, instead hopping around, or slithering snake-like in Penn's case as his mer-form has an eel-like tail.
* Admiral Bubbles from ''WesternAnimation/MyGoldfishIsEvil''.

A SubTrope of ArtisticLicenseMarineBiology. This is a sister trope to FeatherFingers. May also apply to FishPeople, {{LandShark}}s, and TerrestrialSeaLife in animation.

A SubTrope of ArtisticLicenseMarineBiology. This is a sister trope to FeatherFingers. May also apply to FishPeople and TerrestrialSeaLife in animation.

* The tribbets from ''WebOriginal/{{Serina}}'' are a variant, being mudskipper-like fish that use their pectoral fins and tail as three walking limbs. Their descendants, the hoppers, turn their tail into a true jointed leg with the foot derived from their tail fin, eventually the hoppers give rise to the tribbetheres, the FantasticFaunaCounterpart to mammals that have three legs, with the single hind leg looking nearly indistinguishable from a mammal's leg.

The trope where a whale, dolphin, porpoise, manatee, walrus, seal, fish, or shark walks on its tail-fin (justified for the seal and walrus as those are actually its feet). This trope is especially common in cartoons, since filming this is difficult with a real fish. In reality, tail-fins are rather floppy, and won't support the animal's weight, however, it looks more natural than walking on the pectoral fins (which would essentially be 'crawling'), or on the pelvic fins (which anatomically correspond to a tetrapod's legs).

* Subverted in ''Manga/MonsterMusume'': Meroune uses a wheelchair to get around out of the water.

* Averted with Shantae's Mermaid form in ''Shantae: Half-Genie Hero''. On land, her Mermaid form can only flop along on her hands and belly (there is even an achievement for flopping across an entire level in mermaid form!)

* ''Film/TheMermaid'' have its titular character, Shan-shan and other members of her kind, who blends themselves in human society while hiding their legs with clothing. Shan is notably introduced as a young girl in a long skirt covering up to her heels before revealing herself as a merfolk; there's also a [[UnscaledMerfolk mer-octopus]] character in the same film who uses his tentacles instead.

** This is averted with the shark characters, however, who sometimes sit aor float upright, but always swim in a horizontal posture when moving around.

** This is averted with the shark characters, however.

* The Franchise/{{Pokemon}} [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Popplio, Brionne and Primarina]] don't walk on their tail fins, but they can stand up for a few seconds; this is mostly seen when Primarina uses its signature move.

* The Humming-Fish from the animated adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'', just as with their book counterparts.

[[folder: Commercials]]

* Downplayed with Big Man from ''VideoGame/Splatoon3''; while he does walk with his fins, he uses his pectoral fins rather than his tailfin to do so.