Tetrapods are older than we previously thought

A new article in nature magazine shows that tetrapods might have existed more than 20 million years than previously thought. The evidence points to tetrapod footprints dating around 395 million years. It sheds some interesting facts about evolution of tetrapods from fish.

First this transition might have happened at at different times. this clearly shows that if given conditions are right, evolution from one state to another can happen easily.

Secondly this transition can occur in different places if the intial conditions are right, it clearly shows that creatures are just like machines. The basics are quite simple.

links to the original paper and some videos:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v463/n7277/full/nature08623.html
http://www.nature.com/nature/videoarchive/tetrapods/index.html

Quote:

"The coelacanths, which are related to lungfishes and tetrapods, were believed to have been extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period. They were considered the "missing link" between the fish and the tetrapods until the first Latimeria specimen was found off the east coast of South Africa, off the Chalumna River in 1938."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth

Original discovery is credited to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Courtenay-Latimer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Leonard_Brierley_Smith


The following is a NOVA Documentary 'Ancient Creature of the Deep' aired on January 21st 2003. Thanks to youtuber 'trilo5219' for uploading it.

Home page: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beta/evolution/anatomy-coelacanth.html