Early fish could walk on land-but, didn't want too apparently
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Some of the very first sea creatures to be able to walk didn't make the most of their new evolutionary advantage and stayed in the oceans, according to new research, which suggests the ability to walk originated much earlier than previously thought.
The research is based on a genetic analysis of the brain cells of the little skate fish (Leucoraja erinacea), one of the most primitive animals with a backbone.
It turns out the brain systems controlling its movement are very similar to those found in mammals. That suggests these sea creatures were the first to learn some kind of walking-like behaviour.
The little skate is the last common ancestor of sharks and mammals, and that genetic history is important here. Scientists compared the gene expressions with genes activated in the elephant shark and the catshark, showing they'd been preserved through time.
So the walking motions we see in the little skate today may stretch back more than 400 million years.
https://www.sciencealert.com/first-little-skate-fish-with-feet-evolution-could-walk-never-left-ocean
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