Why is the evolution of tetrapods important?
It is extremely useful for terrestrial organisms because it allows them to use their hindlimbs efficiently for locomotion on land. Since the aquatic ancestors of fishes and tetrapods had no such connection, one might guess that this feature first evolved serving the function of enabling terrestrial locomotion.
What was the major reason for the evolution of limbs on these early tetrapods?
It is suggested that tetrapod limbs were evolved for underwater transport rather than for locomotion on dry land.
What muscles should be more developed among the group of tetrapods?
The development of a shoulder muscle, the trapezius, from the levator muscles of the gill arches of fishes, as previously discussed, is taken further in tetrapods by the separation of further slips of muscle to form muscles such as sternocleidomastoid, a muscle important for humans in movements of the head and in …
What evidence is there that ancient tetrapods are related to modern tetrapods?
Fossils of limb structures provide evidence that ancient and modern tetrapods are related because it backs up the fact that both ancient and modern tetrapods follow the one bone two bone many bone digit pattern. It suggests to how modern and ancient tetrapods have the ancestory which come from early tetrapods.
Which evolutionary innovation was most significant in helping tetrapods complete the move to dry terrestrial environments?
Cards
| Term What is the universal feature of plant life cycles? | Definition Alternation of Generations. |
|---|---|
| Term Which evolutionary innovation was most significant in helping tetrapods move to dry land? | Definition Limb specialization. |
Why did tetrapods move to land?
Reproduction was easier when sperm and eggs could be released into the water for fertilization . So the transition from living in the ocean to living on land required that ancestral vertebrates (who gave rise to the tetrapods) have physical traits that would helped them make this shift.
How did forelimb function change as vertebrates acquired limbs and moved onto land?
The results showed that early tetrapod limbs were more adapted for propulsion rather than weight bearing. In the water, animals use their limbs for propulsion to move themselves forward or backward allowing the water to support their body weight.
What three sections make up the tetrapod limbs?
Tetrapod limbs have five segments: propodium, epipodium, mesopodium, metapodium, and phalanges. The manus and pes are composed of the last three of these….
| General name | Forelimb | Hind limb |
|---|---|---|
| Epipodium | radius, ulna | tibia, fibula |
| Manus | Pes | |
| Mesopodium | carpals | tarsals |
What divides the muscle into upper and lower muscle mass?
The axial muscles are the muscles of the body wall. In all vertebrates from the cyclostomes on (i.e. the gnathostomes), the axial muscles are divided into epaxial and hypaxial groups by the horizontal septum.
What evolutionary innovation was of key significant in helping tetrapods?
Amniotes comprise all fully terrestrial vertebrates and include extant squamates, turtles, crocodiles, birds and mammals. The origin of amniotes, tightly linked to the amniotic egg as a key innovation, represents a major transition in the evolutionary history of tetrapods.
What is the origin of tetrapods?
Tetrapods evolved from a group of animals known as the Tetrapodomorpha which, in turn, evolved from ancient sarcopterygian fish around 390 million years ago in the middle Devonian period; their forms were transitional between lobe-finned fishes and the four-limbed tetrapods.
Where are the tetrapods of the Devonian period found?
Devonian tetrapods and elpistostegids have been found in a wide range of geographic localities, including the Old Red Sandstone Continent, North China, and East Gondwana. This wide range could be due to marine tolerance.
Why was the distribution of tetrapods so wide?
This wide range could be due to marine tolerance. The first tetrapods, like their immediate piscine sister taxa, were capable of marine dispersal, thus explaining the widespread global distribution achieved in the Frasnian [12], [13].
How are the nostrils of bony fish different from tetrapods?
The nostrils in most bony fish differ from those of tetrapods. Normally, bony fish have four nares (nasal openings), one naris behind the other on each side. As the fish swims, water flows into the forward pair, across the olfactory tissue, and out through the posterior openings.
What kind of fish lived in the Devonian period?
Lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii) were a highly successful group during the Devonian, between ca. 416 and 359 million years ago (MYA).