Illustration: Kalliopi Monoyios/University of Chicago Although most fish can’t walk on land, scientists do believe that fish are the ancestors of land animals. Among the most iconic evolutionary fish stories1 is a tale about fish: once upon a time fish evolved lungs and legs, crawled out onto land, and evolved into terrestrial vertebrates. Air-breathing fish that can hop and walk across the floor on their fins hint that walking may have evolved underwater before such animals began migrating on to land, scientists find. 'Walking' fish help scientists to understand how we left the ocean. The first fish out of water are thought to have been rather clumsy at walking — or at least attempting to walk. Over time, some of these digits were lost, leading to animals with seven digits, then six, and then five, which is the common condition now seen in living tetrapods. Something in their bodies evolved to make them better walkers than swimmers, and now a new study by Harvard biologists has found what it was that made tetrapods transition to crawling on land . ... Our ancestors' transition out of the water and onto the land was a pivotal moment in evolution. The evolution of the ancient fish that switched from living in water to living on land about 400 million years ago is one of the most pivotal moments in the history of the animal kingdom. Walking fish reveal how our ancestors evolved onto land Date: August 27, 2014 Source: McGill University Summary: About 400 million years ago a group of fish began exploring land … The findings are based on CT scans and a new evolutionary map of the hillstream loach family, which includes the only living fish species caught in the act of walking: a rare, blind cavefish known as Cryptotora thamicola, or the cave angel fish. One small fish in Thailand could hold insights into the evolution of life on earth and how primitive ocean-dwellers developed into animals that could walk on land. The first animals to get close to walking on land had eight digits on each limb. It is thought to be an ancestor of land animals. The ancient fish Tiktaalik as it might have looked walking on a riverbed. Scientists are raising fish to survive outside of water and to walk on land and they're changing right before our eyes. As these animals evolved to live on land, other changes in the rest of their bodies evolved. 116. One of the first "fish" to walk on land some 375 million years ago made its way with surprisingly strong hips and fins, report paleontologists. A n international team of scientists has identified at least 11 species of fish suspected to have land-walking abilities.. 14. ... interesting neat science fish water land evolution. In the PLOS Biology article, “ Development and Evolution of the Muscles of the Pelvic Fin ,” scientists discuss how over time, the muscles of ocean creatures were modified to let some animals walk on land.