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Tetrapod
2023-07-18 Snargl 0 minute 0 second
What is the animal Tetrapod known for?
The animal tetrapod is known for being the first group of vertebrates to evolve four limbs and colonize the land.
Tetrapods include all living and extinct amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, as well as some of their aquatic relatives.
Tetrapods evolved from a group of lobe-finned fish (sarcopterygians) that had fleshy fins with bones and muscles.
The first true tetrapods appeared in the late Devonian period, about 397 million years ago.
Tetrapods diversified into many different groups and radiated into various ecological niches.
Some of the major groups of tetrapods are:
They have conquered almost every habitat and have evolved remarkable forms and functions.
Tetrapods include all living and extinct amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, as well as some of their aquatic relatives.
Tetrapods evolved from a group of lobe-finned fish (sarcopterygians) that had fleshy fins with bones and muscles.
The first true tetrapods appeared in the late Devonian period, about 397 million years ago.
Tetrapods diversified into many different groups and radiated into various ecological niches.
Some of the major groups of tetrapods are:
Amphibians: The first group of tetrapods to diverge from the common ancestor.
They are characterized by having a moist skin, a larval stage with gills, and an adult stage with lungs.
They include frogs, salamanders, and caecilians.Reptiles: The second group of tetrapods to diverge from the common ancestor.
They are characterized by having a scaly skin, an amniotic egg, and a cold-blooded metabolism.
They include turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodiles, and dinosaurs.Birds: A subgroup of reptiles that evolved from theropod dinosaurs.
They are characterized by having feathers, wings, a beak, and a warm-blooded metabolism.
They are the only living tetrapods that can fly.Mammals: The third group of tetrapods to diverge from the common ancestor.
They are characterized by having hair, mammary glands, a diaphragm, and a warm-blooded metabolism.
They include monotremes, marsupials, and placental mammals.
They have conquered almost every habitat and have evolved remarkable forms and functions.
What does the Tetrapod look like?
A tetrapod is any four-limbed vertebrate animal of the superclass Tetrapoda.
Tetrapods include all extant and extinct amphibians and amniotes, with the latter in turn evolving into two major clades, the sauropsids (reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (extinct pelycosaurs, therapsids and all extant mammals).
Some tetrapods, such as snakes, legless lizards, and caecilians, have lost their limbs or reduced them to vestiges.
Tetrapods have numerous anatomical and physiological features that are distinct from their aquatic fish ancestors, such as distinct head and neck structures, appendicular skeletons, more versatile eyes, middle ears, and more efficient heart and lungs.
Tetrapods evolved from a group of primitive semiaquatic animals known as the Tetrapodomorpha, which in turn evolved from ancient lobe-finned fish around 390 million years ago in the Middle Devonian period.
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