Tiktaalik, named for the Inukitut
word for burbots, is the epitome of 
a "transitional fossil," or a 
specimen that shows features from 
its ancestors and its decendents. 
Tiktaalik in particular shows the 
transition between fish and terre-
strial tetrapods. This one-point-
eight meter long fish has normal 
"fishy" features, like scales and
gills, but also sports lungs, wrists, 
and other features of four-legged 
animals. The evolution of limbs with 
wrists was significant, because it 
allowed animals like Tiktaalik and 
their decendents to prop themselves 
up in shallow water and eventually 
crawl onto land. If this never 
happened, animal life might still be 
stuck in the ocean!

Tiktaalik lived in the shallow 
waters of the Devonian Period in
Canada, which was almost centered on
the Equator at the time. Its head 
was very similar to that of a 
crocodile; flat with eyes raised to 
the top of the skull. The combin-
ation of its raised eyes, sharp 
teeth, and supportive limbs would
have made it an effective predator, 
able to rest on the beds of water-
ways watching unsuspecting prey 
float past. Small fish would have 
been attracted to the shallows due
to the large amount of leaves 
dropping off the new deciduous 
plants, making them the perfect
place for a predator like Tiktaalik
to lurk.