The flippers that some marine mammals use to glide underwater have a lot in common with the wings of passenger jets and fighter planes

scientists from Duke University,

recently found out just how similar the manmade wings and marine mammal flippers are by testing scale models in a water tunnel.

the goal is to have a better understanding of how an animal moves and maneuvers

He and his colleagues wanted to know how much energy some dolphins, whales and porpoises use to replace the water in their path

All seven species studied have relatively immobile flippers that remain outstretched like an airplane’s wings.

The bottlenose dolphin’s almost triangular flippers are the most efficient hydrodynamically. The shape means the dolphin “produces the greatest amount of lift for paying the least amount of drag cost,”

Howle doesn’t expect the findings to influence the design of the next fighter jet, but a little biomimicry may improve future submarines.