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- Title
Palaeontology: A polydactylous amniote from the Triassic period.
- Authors
Xiao-Chun Wu; Zhan Li; Bao-Chun Zhou, Masaki; Zhi-Ming Dong, Masaki
- Abstract
The earliest four-limbed vertebrates, or tetrapods, lived between 370 million and 354 million years ago, during the Late Devonian period, and typically had more than five digits (polydactyly). We have discovered that a preaxial form of polydactyly, in which extra digits are positioned anterior to the first digit, has unexpectedly re-emerged in a marine reptile from the Early Triassic period about 242 million years ago - the overall morphology of both the manus and pes closely resemble those of the earliest tetrapods. Until now, no post-Devonian tetrapod has been found with a comparative type of polydactyly, so the new amniote provides a striking example of convergent evolution.
- Publication
Nature, 2003, Vol 426, Issue 6966, p516
- ISSN
0028-0836
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.1038/426516a