The evolution of fins to limbs in the land invasion race
Friday, July 5, 2013 - 21:50
in Biology & Nature
Why did animals with limbs win the race to invade land over those with fins? A new study comparing the forces acting on fins of mudskipper fish and on the forelimbs of tiger salamanders can now be used to analyze early fossils that spanned the water-to-land transition in tetrapod evolution, and further understand their capability to move on land.