Fish · GBIF taxon 4964133
Tiktaalik roseae
Tiktaalik roseaeAlso known as Fishapod
Tiktaalik roseae represents a critical evolutionary bridge between aquatic lobe-finned fishes and the earliest four-limbed land vertebrates. Its robust pectoral fins housed wrist-like joints and weight-bearing radial bones that allowed it to prop its body upward in shallow river shallows. Unlike typical fishes of its era, it possessed a distinct mobile neck and spiracles atop a flattened skull, enabling it to breathe atmospheric air and scan mudflats for prey.
PrehistoricFossilCarnivore
Licensed referenceEduard Solà / CC BY-SA 3.0 · cc-by-sa
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Small placoderms
- Acanthodians
- Aquatic invertebrates
Predators
- Large placoderms
- Tristichopterid fishes
ThreatsLate Devonian extinction events and habitat desiccation (extinct)
HabitatsTropical freshwater floodplains, meandering river channels, and shallow swamps
Life spanUnknown
Classification
- FamilyElpistostegidae
- GenusTiktaalik
- SpeciesTiktaalik roseae
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Extinct fossil species; entirely safe to study and observe in museum collections.
Responsible observation
- Fossil Viewing: Examine cast specimens and fossils housed in natural history research collections.
- Field Paleontology: Always leave exposed Devonian strata undisturbed without proper research permits.
Extant Sarcopterygian (c) BrokenSphere, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
Same Family Placoderm2 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
Close Relative Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com) / CC BY 2.5 · cc-by
Image unavailableDescendant Relative Descendant Relative
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