Lungfish Give Insight to Life on Land

A research team in Australia have recently completed a study on the development of several species of fish. The team from the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Monash University focused on the Australian Lungfish to gain insight into the development of terrestrial limbs and ultimately the development of us. It is believed that the ancient lungfish which look remarkably similar to the current day species, where among the first fish to traverse dry land. They did so with the use of their modified back pectoral fins. The study focused on the development of these fins as they are considered part of the evolutionary gap that separates sea life from terrestrial existence.

I feel that this type of research is very useful in learning about not only our ancestry, but it also provides insight into evolutionary ground breaking for lack of a better term. These monumental breakthroughs are what have allowed life to develop the way it has and the more we learn about them, and the more of them we learn about, the closer we come to solving very big questions. Questions like how did life oringate from something as simple as bacteria perhaps?

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