{"id":5816,"date":"2023-03-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=5816"},"modified":"2023-03-09T13:23:32","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T13:23:32","slug":"how-fish-evolved-to-walk-and-in-one-case-turned-into-humans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/how-fish-evolved-to-walk-and-in-one-case-turned-into-humans\/","title":{"rendered":"How fish evolved to walk \u2013 and in one case, turned into humans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n 3D rendering of the tiktaalik, an extinct walking fish.\n Dotted Yeti\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\nChris Organ<\/a>, University of Reading<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

When you think about human evolution, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019re imagining chimpanzees exploring ancient forests or early humans daubing woolly mammoths on to cave walls. But we humans, along with bears, lizards, hummingbirds and Tyrannosaurus rex<\/em>, are actually lobe-finned fish<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

It might sound bizarre but the evidence is in our genes<\/a>, anatomy<\/a> and in fossils<\/a>. We belong to a group of animals called land-dwelling sarcopterygians<\/a>, but vast amounts of evolutionary change have obscured our appearance. <\/p>\n\n

We think of fish as expert swimmers, but in fact they have evolved the ability to \u201cwalk\u201d at least five times<\/a>. Some species pull themselves forward<\/a> using well developed fore-fins, while others \u201cwalk\u201d along the ocean floor.<\/p>\n\n

Our sarcopterygian ancestor evolved lungs and other air-breathing mechanisms, bony limbs, and a stronger spinal column before venturing on to land. These adaptations were useful not only in aquatic environments but allowed our ancestors to explore land \u2013 they were \u201cpre-adaptations\u201d for life on land.<\/p>\n\n

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