Tetrapod anatomy: Backbone back-to-front in early animals

Textbooks might have to be re-written when it comes to some of the earliest creatures, a study suggests.

Researchers have found that our understanding of the anatomy of the first four-legged animals is wrong.

New 3D models of fossil remains show that previous renderings of the position of the beasts' backbones were actually back-to-front.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, may even change our thinking on how the spine evolved.

The scientists looked at a group of animals called the tetrapods, examining three creatures called Ichthyostega, Acanthostega and Pederpes.

The textbook examples turn out to be wrong”

Prof John Hutchinson Royal Veterinary College

These primitive four-legged animals are of great interest to palaeontologists: they were the first creatures to haul themselves out of the oceans, paving the way for all future vertebrate life on land.

Studying how these animals are put together is key to understanding how they made this transition.

The researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) used the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) to bombard the 360-million-year old fossils with high energy X-rays.

This enabled them to create detailed computer reconstructions of the prehistoric animals.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20987289