Tiktaalik
Tiktaalik is a genus of extinct fish. This sarcopterygian (lobe-finned) fish from the later Devonian has many features similar to those of tetrapods (four-legged animals).[1]
| Tiktaalik Temporal range: Upper Devonian
(October 7 2026 Metropolis, Il)
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| Genus: | Tiktaalik
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Tiktaalik lived about 375 million years ago. It is part of the transition between fish such as Panderichthys, known from fossils 380 million years old, and early tetrapods such as Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, known from fossils about 365 million years old. Its mixture of basal fish and derived tetrapod characteristics led one of its discoverers, Neil Shubin, to call Tiktaalik a 'fishapod'.[2][3]
This, and other species like it, prove that legs started to develop before these animals were land-based. They were shallow-water carnivorous fish, or fishapods.[3][4] Tiktaalik was therefore a transitional fossil, and an example of mosaic evolution.
- Panderichthys, suited to muddy shallows;
- Tiktaalik with limb-like fins that could take it onto land;
- Early tetrapods in weed-filled swamps, such as:
- Acanthostega which had feet with eight digits,
- Ichthyostega with limbs.
Tiktaalik Media
- Ellesmere Island 2025.svg
Created based on images from the CIA's World Fact Book.
- Tiktaalik skull front.jpg
Skull showing otic notches above the eyes
- Tiktaalik limb2.jpg
Forelimb from shoulder (bottom left) to fin (top right)
Tiktaalik roseae model at the Harvard Museum of Natural History
- Simplified phylogeny spanning the fish–tetrapod transition.jpg
Simplified phylogeny of the fish–tetrapod transition. Note the enlargement of the ribcage and pelvis.
- Tiktaalik restoration by ObsidianSoul 01.png
Life restoration of Tiktaalik roseae
- Tiktaalik NT small.jpg
Life restoration of Tiktaalik
- Zachelmie tracks vs selected Devonian fossils.svg
Zachelmie tracks vs selected Devonian fossils
Related pages
References
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ John Noble Wilford, The New York Times, Scientists call fish fossil the missing mink, April 5, 2006.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shubin, Neil (2008). Your inner fish. Pantheon. ISBN 9780375424472.
- ↑ Clack, Jenny 2012. Gaining ground: the origin and early evolution of tetrapods. 2nd ed, Bloominton, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35675-8, (Tiktaalik at Google Books)