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Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Fish With First Neck Evolved Into Land Animal -- Slowly


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A model of Tiktaalik roseae—a 375 million-year-old species that fills in the evolutionary gap between fish and land animals—is depicted above next to a Tiktaalik fossil found in 2004.

The skull of the fossil fish reveals that our fish ancestors may have evolved into land dwellers more slowly than previously thought, according to a new study. Among the reported new Tiktaalik finds: the world's first known neck.

Model by Tyler Keillor, Photo by Beth Rooney