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Scientists believe amphibians came from fish ancestors. Why do they believe this? Well, their DNA shows them to be very closely related, we have fossil transitional forms and fish and amphibians also share many traits. Lungs The first step to survival on land is breathing oxygen. Fish didn't decide to start breathing oxygen. Every organ comes from a prior organ that was also useful. Lungs evolved from a fish's swim bladder. It helps fish manage buoyancy in the water. It's an oxygen sack. "Physosmous" fish gulp to gain buoyancy and burp to lose it. The bigger these bladders got, the more blood vessels and the longer they could survive in low oxygenated water giving them an advantage in reaching food sources previously unavailable to them. These fish swam in thicker water, with further food sources just out of reach on land.  Survival in the low oxygenated water also meant they had less predators. Gradually with each generation the fish with the most...

Looks? We can easily identify a sheep from a cow but how do you feel about these? Salamanders vs gecko Mudskipper vs Newts Whales and whale shark Rabbit vs hare Fox vs wolf Slow worm vs snake Alligator vs crocodile Chevrotain vs Agouti Turtles vs tortoises Salamanders are amphibians Geckos are reptiles Whales are mammals Whale shark is a fish Chevrotain is a deer Agouti is a rodent Turtles have flippers, tortoises don't Did intuition and observation prove reliable? So we need a better way... One way biologists identify species is by which ones can mate and reproduce Horses and donkeys can reproduce. Their babies are called mules. Lions and tigers can reproduce. This how we get ligers. However, these offspring are sterile and can't reproduce themselves. So most biologists use the general definition of any two animals that can reproduce fertile offspring. However, there's a vast array of animals you might assume can reproduce but can...

Scientists believe that modern birds are related to an ancient type of dinosaur. Birds and therapod dinosaurs are the only known animals to have a wishbone. Tyrannosaurus Rex The most famous and best documented of all dinosaurs. In 1990, paleontologists digging in South Dakota discovered a Tyrannosaurus fossil with 90% of it's bones. A fierce predator, it's funny to think it's actually closely related to birds of today such as chickens. However, evolution doesn't necessarily favour the biggest and strongest lifeforms. It's those lifeforms best adapted and able to re-adapt to a changing environment. Small Dinosaurs Not all dinosaurs were big. Some were small. Eoraptor and Compsognathus were about a foot tall. The first dinosaur fossils with structures that could be considered feathers were found in the 1990s. Other discoveries followed. By 2011 some studies were even suggesting that all dinosaurs had some type of feathery covering on at lea...