Tetrapods supposedly evolved from these intermediate forms and eventually replaced them. These animals - the elpistostegids - have largely been seen as transitional fossils. Tiktaalik could support itself on strong shoulder bones, bend its fins at the wrists, and splay out its hand-like bones. Its limbs had the fin rays of its fishy predecessors but clear wrist bones and basic fingers too. These include Panderichthys, a fish with a large tetrapod-like head and a muscular pair of front fins. It has been illustrated by a series of beautiful fossils that vividly show the transition from swimming with fins to walking on legs. The evolution of four-legged creatures - tetrapods - is one of the most evocative in life's history. These animals were walking around 18 million years earlier than expected. Their tracks eventually fossilised and their recent discovery yields a big surprise that could rewrite what we know about the invasion of land. With sprawling gaits and tails held high, they took pioneering footsteps. These large, amphibious creatures were among the first invaders of the land, the first animals with true legs that could walk across solid ground. Around 395 million years ago, a group of four-legged animals strode across a Polish coast.
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