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EveryFish

Lobe-finned fish

Fish with fleshy, bony fins like stumpy limbs: the coelacanths and lungfish, close relatives of the first land animals.

Also: Sarcopterygii

Lobe-finned fish have paired fins on a fleshy stalk with bones inside, joined to the body by a single bone, much like the upper arm or thigh. Around 375 million years ago some of them, such as Tiktaalik, began to move into shallow water and onto land, and gave rise to amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Only eight living fish species remain: two coelacanths and six lungfish, found in Africa, South America and Australia.

See also

Living fossil Lungs in fish Bony fish

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