TETRAPODS tetrapodomorphs evolved, they lost

❯ Tetrapoda is a super class, the gills and spiracular tracts, adopting

amphibians, reptiles
(including dinosaurs and birds)
and mammals are the major groups
of the Tetrapoda.
❯ Tetrapods have limbs.
Tetrapod means "four feet". These
limbs are most commonly used for
locomotion like crawling, walking,
running, flying, or swimming
❯ All tetrapod limbs share a common
basic structure. Both the forelimb
and the hindlimb have one long
bone that attaches to the body at
one end and to two long bones at
the other end.
nostrils for air breathing.
❯ The ancestors of Tiktaalik and
Ichthyostega likely had swim
bladders, initially aiding buoyancy.
In some lobe-finned fish, swim
bladders evolved with increased
blood vessels, improving oxygen
transfer. Over time, this organ
adapted to a new role: breathing. In
these species, swim bladders
resemble lungs, being divided and
rich in blood vessels.

❯ laid eggs in water. water which

developed into aquatic larvae. The
larvae metamorphosed into land-
living adults.

❯ Tetrapods reproduce through

sexual reproduction, involving the
union of male and female gametes.
They lay amniotic eggs or give birth
to live young, allowing reproduction
on land.
❯ The amniotic egg allowed tetrapods
to become completely terrestrial.

❯ The spiracular tract, an opening in

the tube, allows fish to breathe
while eating. The evolution of skull
holes, from breathing in water to
air, reveals when tetrapodomorphs
(earliest tetrapods) transitioned. As