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Tiktaalik, a lobe-finned fish with some anatomical features similar to early tetrapods. It has been suggested to be a transitional species between fish and tetrapods. [81] 365 Ma Acanthostega is one of the earliest vertebrates capable of walking. [82] 363 Ma By the start of the Carboniferous Period, the Earth begins to resemble its present state.
The history of life on Earth traces the processes by which living and extinct organisms evolved, from the earliest emergence of life to the present day. Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago (abbreviated as Ga, for gigaannum) and evidence suggests that life emerged prior to 3.7 Ga. [1] [2] [3] The similarities among all known present-day species indicate that they have diverged through the ...
The evolution of fishes took place over a timeline which spans the Cambrian to the Cenozoic, including during that time in particular the Devonian, which has been dubbed the "age of fishes" for the many changes during that period. The Late Devonian extinctions played a crucial role in shaping the evolution of fish, or vertebrates in general. [1]
c. 190 Ma – Pliosaurs evolve, along with many groups of primitive sea invertebrates. c. 190 Ma - Thalattosuchians evolve. [34] c. 180 Ma – Pangaea splits into two major continents: Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. c. 176 Ma – First stegosaurs. c. 170 Ma – First salamanders and newts evolve. Cynodonts go extinct.
Evolutionary theory predicted that since amphibians evolved from fish, an intermediate form should be found in rock dated between 365 and 385 million years ago. Such an intermediate form should have many fish-like characteristics, conserved from 385 million years ago or more, but also have many amphibian characteristics as well.
It features two epochs: the Miocene and the Pliocene. [59] The Miocene spans from 23.03 million to 5.333 million years ago and is a period in which grass spread further across, effectively dominating a large portion of the world, diminishing forests in the process. Kelp forests evolved, leading to the evolution of new species such as sea otters.
The braincase of lobe-finned fish primitively has a hinge line, but this is lost in tetrapods and lungfish. Many early lobe-finned fish have a symmetrical tail. All lobe-finned fish possess teeth covered with true enamel. Lobe-finned fish, such as coelacanths and lungfish, were the most diverse group of bony fish in the Devonian.
Of all species that have existed on Earth, 99.9 percent are now extinct. [29] Since life began on Earth, five major mass extinctions have led to large and sudden drops in the variety of species. The most recent, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, occurred 66 million years ago. [30]