A person who studies prehistoric life is called a Paleontologist. One fossil that paleontologists were trying to find was the creature that filled the gap between fish and land vertebrae, or a
transitional fossil.The paleontologists working on this project were E. Daeschler, N. Shublin, and F. Jenkins. What they found was a large fish, that had both characteristics of a land vertebrae and a fish. They named it the Tiktaalik (Tiktaalik means large, fresh water fish.) The Tiktaalik is a tetrapod, meaning it has four limbs. It is similar to a land vertebrae in that it has ear notches, fin skeletons, it's flat head, it's ribs, and it's neck. It is similar to a fish in it's scales, fins, and gills. From the placement of the Tiktaalik in the earth, paleontologists have determined that it roamed the earth 375 years ago. You can use
Paleontology to prove evolution by showing how the bones themselves evolved.
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| The Tiktaalik Roseae |
