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Tiktaalik was a fish with scales and gills, yet its front fins held shoulder, elbow and wrist-like bones. The first argument for the shore began inside a fin.

Devonian fossil, about 375 million years old

EvolutionBiologyScienceOcean

Why it matters

The idea in context

Discovered in Arctic Canada, Tiktaalik is famous because it sits near one of life's great thresholds: water to land. It was still a fish, but its skull, neck, ribs and forefins hint at an animal that could brace itself in shallow water. Evolution did not leap onto land fully formed. It practised at the muddy edge, one useful bone at a time.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Tiktaalik pulları ve solungaçları olan bir balıktı; ama ön yüzgeçlerinde omuz, dirsek ve bileğe benzeyen kemikler taşıyordu. Karaya çıkışın ilk tartışması bir yüzgecin içinde başladı.
Yaklaşık 375 milyon yıllık Devoniyen fosili

Kuzey Kutbu Kanada'sında keşfedilen Tiktaalik, yaşamın büyük eşiklerinden birine yakın durduğu için ünlüdür: sudan karaya geçiş. Hâlâ bir balıktı; fakat kafatası, boynu, kaburgaları ve ön yüzgeçleri sığ suda kendini destekleyebilen bir hayvana işaret eder. Evrim karaya bir anda, hazır biçimde sıçramadı. Çamurlu kenarda, işe yarayan her kemiği teker teker denedi.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

Background reading: TiktaalikAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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