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Article: Out of the Swamps.(how early vertebrates moved land)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- May 22, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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How early vertebrates established a foothold--with all 10 toes--on land
Roughly 340 million years ago, a small beast built somewhat like a lizard was scampering along the edge of a tropical lagoon when it met its fate. No one knows what killed the wiener-size creature. A tropical storm might have drowned it, or perhaps a sudden wave washed it from shore. In any event, the animal fell into the lagoon and sank into the annals of paleontology.
In 1992, an amateur fossil collector spotted the remnants of this four-legged creature on the shore of Cheese Bay, Scotland. For the next 5 years, the fossil sat in a drawer at the National Museums of Scotland in ...