GeoBlog |
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April 06, 2004
From the New York Times: Scientists Discover Fossil From Era When Fish Did Push-Ups. "A small arm bone fossilized in the red sandstone of a Pennsylvania road cut may hold clues to a critical transition of life on Earth, the evolution of some fish into land-dwelling animals.
The two-and-a-half-inch-long bone, which scientists think is the oldest known upper arm, or humerus, appears to be a link between the fins of fish and the arms and legs of amphibians. The creature the bone belonged to apparently had developed a capability important toward bridging that evolutionary gap: it could do push-ups. |