All animals with four limbs – reptiles, birds, amphibians and even humans – descended from common ancestors that made that initial transition from fins to feet. But how and why this evolutionary leap occurred has long been a scientific puzzle.
Now, the partial remains of a 375-million-year-old fish have emerged to help fill in some of the blanks. Paleontologists have uncovered new fossils from Tiktaalik roseae, which, while still a fish, is considered a transitional fossil that also has traits common to the first four-footed animals.
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