The original fish out of water

Yet another cool “missing link”:

Fossils of a species of fish in the act of adapting to life on land have been found by scientists, shedding new light on one of the most momentous events in evolution.

The well-preserved remains of creatures with a crocodile-like head and flattened body neatly fill a gap between fish and the first creatures to walk on land.

Previous fossils representing this milestone have essentially been fish with a few land characteristics, or slightly fishy land vertebrates. The newly-found fossils show an animal that sits between the two.

Dr Ted Daeschler, of the Academy of Natural Sciences, in Philadelphia, said: “The find is a dream come true.”