Tiktaalik is a lobe-finned bony fish from the Middle-Late Devonian of Canada. It was named in 2006 by Ted Daeschler, Neil Shubin, and Farish Jenkins. It was a truly remarkable fish, as it started the transition from water to land, and was one of the missing links between lobe-finned fish and amphibians.
Physiology[]
Tiktaalik was a unique lobe-finned fish. It had a streamlined body, fleshy, strong, lobe-like fins resembling tetrapod arms, a long tail similar to that of a tadpole, a big, flat head with big jaws, and eyes on the top of its head. Its body would have been covered in scaly skin.
Diet[]
Tiktaalik was a predator, preying on insects and smaller fish. Its teeth were small yet sharp, and were used to get a hold of struggling prey as the lobe-finned fish swallowed them whole.
Ecology[]
Tiktaalik was an evolutionary step-up from Eusthenopteron, as it had improved features that more resembled those of the tetrapods. For example, it had strong fins with a skeletal makeup very similar to those of tetrapod legs, allowing it to crawl out of the water and onto dry land (very much like a lungfish. As well as this, it had flexible neck bones (which allowed it to look around without turning its body) and a sturdy rib cage (which supported the lobe-finned fish and prevented it from being crushed by its own weight). It would have hunted very similarly to a crocodile, lying in wait near the surface (with its eyes just above the water), right before raising itself up and turning its head to capture its prey.
In popular culture[]
Tiktaalik was featured in the 1st episode of the 2013 documentary Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates, where it is shown as the animal that made the transition from water to land. The scene which features it also takes a look at its fins, one of the features that made it more than capable of doing this task.