Re: Back-evolution of limbs.

[Earl Wood <candles@jps.net>]

     Hello Jack , The thought I had in mind when I ask the question about digits
was
that the return to an aquatic environment and fins that the bone structure 
seems to

remain the same as it was when they were terrestrial , is this correct ?
     Earl

Jack wrote:

> On Sun, 28 Jun 1998, Earl Wood wrote:
>
> > I would like to insert a question here........ was the original limb 
> > composed
> > of five digits
> > before going onshore , or developed after becoming terrestrial ?
> > Earl Wood
> > candles@jps.net
> >
>
> This is not so simple a question as it may, at first, appear if you are
> discussing basal tetrapods.  The original tetrapod, _Acanthostega_ or
> something related, possessed as many as eight digits.  However, it has
> been suggested that this animal never left the water and only used its
> digits to help it remain still while under water or to "crawl" along the
> bottom.  I don't know much a _Tulerpeton_ (sic?), but I have seen the
> monograph on _Ichthyostega_.  This animal possessed at least six digits
> and was probably a semiterrestrial form.  Therefore, the five-digit
> tetrapod limb probably did develop on land.
>
> Hope that I didn't miss the point of your question.
>
> Jack Conrad
> jconrad@lib.drury.edu


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