How does tiktaalik provide evidence for the evolution of tetrapods and land dwelling vertebrates?

How does tiktaalik provide evidence for the evolution of tetrapods and land dwelling vertebrates?

Tiktaalik provides clues about a key transition in the history of life. Now extinct, this organism was a close relative of one our own ancestors — the first vertebrate to evolve four limbs and crawl out onto dry land. Tiktaalik, for example, had fins with thin ray bones, scales, and gills like most fish.

How do analogous structures support the pattern of convergent evolution?

Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions.

Does Tiktaalik have bones in feet or fins?

Its fins have thin ray bones for paddling like most fish, but they also have sturdy interior bones that would have allowed Tiktaalik to prop itself up in shallow water and use its limbs for support as most four-legged animals do.

What is the importance of Tiktaalik in the evolutionary story of tetrapods?

Tiktaalik lived about 12 million years before the first tetrapods (which are approximately 363 million years old). So, the existence of tetrapod features in a fish like Tiktaalik is significant because it marks the earliest appearance of these novel features in the fossil record.

How does analogous structures lead to evolution?

Different species can evolve to become more similar While homologous structures show how similar species have changed from their ancient ancestors, analogous structures show how different species have evolved to become more similar.

How did Tiktaalik develop limbs?

The report shows that the animal had a large, robust pelvic girdle, a prominent hip joint, and long hind fins. The powerful fins could have propelled the beast in the water, but also helped it walk on riverbeds, or scramble around on mudflats.

What adaptations did Tiktaalik roseae have that reflected its habitat?

Because Tiktaalik could move its head independently, it had the ability to raise its head above the water, making it easier for Tiktaalik to snap at its prey above water, which is more efficient than underwater (Owen, 2006). Read more about the body structure of Tiktaalik in Adaptations!

What does Tiktaalik roseae the Fishapod tell us about how tetrapods evolved from fish?

Why is Tiktaalik called the “fishapod”? Tiktaalik shares anatomical features with both primitive fish and the first tetrapods. These features in Tiktaalik show that many of the body features we associate with the earliest tetrapods actually evolved in fish first.

Do you think the discovery of Tiktaalik is important to understanding evolution Why?

Its discovery sheds light on a pivotal point in the history of life on Earth: when the very first fish ventured out onto land. So, the existence of tetrapod features in a fish like Tiktaalik is significant because it marks the earliest appearance of these novel features in the fossil record.

How is convergent evolution related to biodiversity?

Convergent evolution results when unrelated species occupy similar envi- ronments and so natural selection favors similar adaptations. This causes the unrelated species to look or behave similarly.