However, lungs — gas-filled organs that serve the function of respiration — also evolved very early on. ... In the lobefins, lungs stuck around, and tetrapods, coelacanths, and (duh) lungfish, all inherited them and use them to obtain oxygen. Coelacanths and lungfish also retained their gills.

What evolved first in tetrapods?

The evolution of tetrapods began about 400 million years ago in the Devonian Period with the earliest tetrapods evolved from lobe-finned fishes.

What animal first had lungs?

"Lungs started to appear in fish underwater when they evolved air breathing in response to low oxygen levels in water 350 to 400 million years ago," says study author Peter Madsen, a biologist at Aarhus University in Denmark.

Did early tetrapods have gills?

Recent finds of early tetrapods have established that the most primitive form, Acanthostega , retained internal gills and other fish-like features; this has led to the conclusion that it was a primarily aquatic animal.

How did our lungs evolve?

It has long been believed that the lungs of land vertebrates like us humans evolved from "swim bladders" -- gas-filled sacs in bony fish that help them adjust their depth.

When Fish First Breathed Air

34 related questions found

How did tetrapods develop lungs?

Air breathing in tetrapods is achieved via lungs, which likely arose from gas-filled bladders functioning for gas exchange and/or buoyancy control in primitive air-breathing fish prior to the radiation of ray-finned (Actinopterygi) and lobe-finned (Sarcopterygi) fishes (Perry et al., 2001; Remmers et al., 2001; Wilson ...

How did amphibians develop lungs?

As amphibian larvae develop, the gills (and in frogs, the tail fin) degenerate, paired lungs develop, and the metamorphosing larvae begin making excursions to the water surface to take air breaths. ... By the time the larva has reached adult form, the lungs have assumed the respiratory function of the larval gills.

When did tetrapods first appear?

The first tetrapods (from a traditional, apomorphy-based perspective) appeared by the late Devonian, 367.5 million years ago. The specific aquatic ancestors of the tetrapods and the process by which they colonized Earth's land after emerging from water remains unclear.

Did lungs evolve from gills?

Gills were present in the earliest fish, but lungs also evolved pretty early on, potentially from the tissue sac that surrounds the gills. Swim bladders evolved soon after lungs, and are thought to have evolved from lung tissue.

What did the common ancestor of all tetrapods look like?

The common ancestor of all those different organisms (ray-fins, coelacanths, lungfishes, tetrapods, etc.) was neither a lobe-fin nor a ray-fin. This ancient vertebrate lineage had fins (with lepidotrichia), scales, gills, and lived in the water.

Are tetrapods more evolved than non tetrapods?

Tetrapods form a clade. ... Tetrapods are more evolved than non-tetrapods. Tetrapods are more closely related to each other than to non-tetrapods.

What evidence suggests that the first tetrapods were amphibians?

Evolution of Amphibians. The fossil record provides evidence of the first tetrapods: now-extinct amphibian species dating to nearly 400 million years ago.

Are all vertebrates tetrapods?

Tetrapods are a group of vertebrates that includes amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Tetrapods include all living land vertebrates as well as some former land vertebrates that have since adopted an aquatic lifestyle (such as whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, sea turtles, and sea snakes).

When did lungs first evolve?

However, they also had lungs that they used to breathe oxygen. Between 390 and 360 million years ago, the descendents of these organisms began to live in shallower waters, and eventually moved to land. As they did, they experienced natural selection that shaped many adaptations for a terrestrial way of life.

When did amphibians first appear?

The first major groups of amphibians developed in the Devonian period, around 370 million years ago, from lobe-finned fish which were similar to the modern coelacanth and lungfish.

What did the first terrestrial tetrapods eat?

Another theory has it that the earliest tetrapods were literally chased out of the water by bigger fish—dry land harbored an abundance of insect and plant food, and a marked absence of dangerous predators. Any lobe-finned fish that blundered onto land would have found itself in a veritable paradise.

When lungs evolved in vertebrates What is the evolution?

Vertebrate lungs have long been thought to have evolved in fishes largely as an adaptation for life in hypoxic water. This view overlooks the possibility that lungs may have functioned to supply the heart with oxygen and may continue to serve this function in extant fishes.

Why did aquatic organisms come before terrestrial organisms?

Jennifer Ouellette. Life on Earth began in the water. So when the first animals moved onto land, they had to trade their fins for limbs, and their gills for lungs, the better to adapt to their new terrestrial environment.

How did gills evolve?

A new study has revealed that gills originated much deeper in evolutionary history than previously believed. ... These "snapshots" of development led scientists to believe that gills were formed from different tissues: the internal 'endoderm' lining in jawless vertebrates, and the 'ectoderm' outer skin in the jawed.

When did vertebrates first appear?

First vertebrates

Vertebrates originated about 525 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion, which saw rise in organism diversity. The earliest known vertebrate is believed to be Myllokunmingia.

Where did the first vertebrates evolve?

But predictions based on the fossil data that do exist suggest all the various forms of the first vertebrates, from jawless fish to bony fish, originated in shallow environments near shore, researchers report today (October 25) in Science.

Did organisms with shells appear before tetrapods?

The age of the fossil is the same as the age of the rock it is found in. Organisms with shells appeared before tetrapods. Fish and organisms with shells lived at the same time. According to the principle of superposition, layer D represents the oldest rock.

How do amphibians breathe with lungs?

Most amphibians breathe through lungs and their skin. ... Sometimes more than a quarter of the oxygen they use is absorbed directly through their skin. Tadpoles and some aquatic amphibians have gills like fish that they use to breathe. There are a few amphibians that do not have lungs and only breathe through their skin.

How did air breathing evolve?

Evolutionary biologists and paleontologists group the environmental factors that drove the evolution of air-breathing as “evolutionary pushes” and “evolutionary pulls” (63), with the first including seasonal water withdrawal, environmental hypoxia with or without hypercapnia, aquatic predators, and competition, and the ...

How do frogs breathe through their lungs?

Unlike mammals that control their breathing with the diaphragm, frogs use their mouths and nostrils in tandem to bring air into their lungs. When a frog breathes in, it lowers the floor of its mouth and relaxes its throat.