This genetic link between fins and limbs could, with more research, shed light on how some animals made the transition from sea to land and what genetic mechanics are necessary to make it happen.

Using high energy CT-scans, the skeleton of the pectoral fin revealed the presence of a humerus (arm), radius and ulna (forearm), rows of carpus (wrist) and phalanges organized in digits (fingers).

Hawkins focused on the pectoral fin of the bowfin because of its ancestral configuration of the skeleton. The bowfin retains the metapterygium, which is a portion of the fin skeleton that is ...

This complete 1.57 metre long fish shows the complete arm (pectoral fin) skeleton for the first time in any elpistostegalian fish. Using high energy CT-scans, the skeleton of the pectoral fin revealed ...

Pectoral fins are located on each side and are equivalent to the forelimbs of tetrapods, a group of vertebrates that includes today’s amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.