Resolving evolutionary problems at the fish-tetrapod transition

该项目旨在调查澳大利亚非常早期的四足动物轨道，并进行田野工作，以确定第一批四足动物的起源和进化的时间。鱼类向四足类的进化是进化的关键事件之一。对北半球化石的研究表明，这个群体的起源大约在3.8亿年前。澳大利亚的化石表明它的起源要古老得多。来自澳大利亚3-D化石鱼类的新的微型计算机断层扫描数据，结合对罕见的四足类鳃弓骨的研究，将使我们能够确定四足类呼吸空气的起源及其生态环境。该项目可能有助于重写脊椎动物进化最重要的第一步。

The project aims to investigate very early Australian tetrapod trackways and conduct fieldwork to resolve the place of origin and timing of the evolution of the first tetrapods. The evolution of fishes to tetrapods was one of the key events in evolution. Studies on Northern Hemisphere fossils place an origin for the group around 380 million years ago. Australian fossils suggest a much older origin. New micro computed tomography data from Australian 3-D fossil fishes, combined with study of rare tetrapod gill arch bones, would enable us to determine the origins of tetrapod air-breathing and its ecological setting. The project may facilitate a rewriting of vertebrate evolution's most significant first step.