Was the transition to land merely a lucky evolutionary accident?
The move from water to land is often viewed as a grand biological conquest. However, new perspectives suggest that the success of all tetrapods may have been an unintended consequence of fish simply attempting to remain fish.
This video explores the possibility that the colonization of land by creatures ranging from frogs to dogs and dinosaurs was not a directed evolutionary goal. Instead, it examines the theory that the fundamental traits allowing for life on land were side-effects of adaptations occurring within aquatic environments. By looking at the lineage of tetrapods, we can reconsider whether our terrestrial existence was a purposeful leap or a fortunate byproduct of survival strategies used by ancestral fish.
Source: Crawling Out Of The Water Was An Evolutionary Accident
