Our Ancient Relative That Said 'No Thanks' To Land 

Those fish were smart to go back into the water just look at their cousins now having to work 8 hours a day and dealing with things like depression

I’m afraid I won’t be satisfied until paleontologists find “true” fishopods, animals whose feet are actual fish.

I had no idea Tiktaalik was so huge, I always imagined them at the size of a giant salamander at most, but I wasn't expecting an alligator sized fish

Qikiqtania wakei had the right idea. Their lineage only needed to take a couple of steps onto land before realizing that this path would eventually lead to the invention of taxes. I'm proud of them and I envy them.

"Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans." Douglas Adams

The idea that evolution is just winging its entire job weirdly gives me hope for my future.

From a historian's point of view, this is a really cool illustration of fallacy of sorts that's really easy to fall into: In fields like national history or history of technology (and many others, I'm sure), one is tempted to only look at the path that worked, which makes it feel almost preordained: "This modern nation state was the direct and single logical continuation of this medieval rulership". "This idea/technology is based on this one and that one, and its advent was basically inevitable". No, it wasn't.

I love how she said 'who we had to thank .. or blame.. for the transition to land', knowing full well that tiktaalik meme 😅

I read an entire book about tiktaalik and no one EVER mentioned how big it was. I have been thinking this entire time that this creature was a cute little salamander maybe a foot long maybe two feet long, but almost 9 feet long???

Other fishes: how was land? Qikiqtania’s ancestors: 7.8/10 too much land

I always kinda though tiktaalik looked like it could never actually kill anything with it's dopey looking head and jaws. Rather, the prey realize it's just been caught by the gooberiest looking salamander-fish, be like 'awh seriously, how's this happened' and just loose the will to live in a slimy embrace.

Can't help feeling like the ones who went back into the water ended up making the smarter decision in the long run - the really, REALLY long run!

**Qikiqtania wakei crawling out of the sea** **Sees 2.7m Tiktaalik** ‘Ight imma head out

Well, I've always seen my life as kind of a landfish-out-of-water story.

Some time ago, I was active in a fiction writing community. It's shocking how many well read individuals thought evolution, technology etc worked like a computer game with hardcoded, linear options to choose from and improve your species. Kind of wish this video came out for referencing before I quit that thing

I had no idea Tiktaalik was such a recent discovery. It was something that was in a lot of the books I read as a kid, probably only a few years after it was discovered. Really shows how important it was.

Could the reason Qikiqtania turned around been because a new environmental niche opened up? Like legs were developed while they were a lesser predator and constrained to hunting in shallow water, but then the larger predator died out allowing Qikiqtania to take advantage of the more bountiful open waters

I think with the lungfish being our closest extant (living) non-tetrapod ("fish") relatives they definitely deserve a PBS Eons video of their own! The coelacanths are also fascinating fish and also deserve a PBS Eons video, but they split off from the tetrapods *BEFORE* the lungfish did.

Wow, I never knew that tiktaalic was so big. Just thought it was like 40-50cm or something like that.

These fish lived in a tidal river delta. They would get trapped in tide pools that shrank over time before the tide came back, so they had to go over the muddy land to get back into water. The ones who could do this survived.

I think most depictions of Tiktaalik don't do it's size justice. I've always had the impression that it was an arms length long.

Weren't there already giant insects inhabiting dry land at the time? I would have noped out too.

this video gives me a similar feeling to watching scishow in 2016-17. i really enjoy the energy the hosts bring to the episodes, and i enjoy the work Eons has done to set a specific familiar tone

It would be a bit different for the channel, but I'd love to hear more about how the researchers interact with the native communities to get the permission or support to their research in the field, and about search campaigns in general.

_Qukiqtania crawls out of the water and sees land arthropods. Slowly backs up into the water_

Wow! I'm glad you guys came up north for this exact reseach I didn't know was in my home territory of Nunavut. We have a lot of space here and not many people with the proper research capabilities to trace fossils and artifacts as much around here in the north. It was exciting to watch and learn from you guys! Big thanks PBS Eons!!

5:29 one of the most misunderstood parts of evolution so enthusiastically explained! 7:40 even more to the point!

"This fish crawls out of the ocean; now I have to pay rent and taxes" Qikiqtania: "not my fault."

I had no idea Tiktaalik was so big! 😱 I always pictured it as big as like an iguana

This is the only channel where I regularly rewind to double, sometimes tripple, check if I heard things right and pay really close attention. I love this stuff. If I had somehing like this 15 yrs earlier in my life I'd be somewhere else right now doing something completely differrent

Tiktaalik is one of my all-time fave Old Bois, and I love learning more about them

YEEESSS IM SO HAPPY YOU MADE A VIDEO ON QIKIQTANIA!!!!!!!!! SUCH a fascinating fish but it doesn't seem to see all that well known :( i really hope you make more videos about the fish - tetrapod transition!!!

We could likely guess this would happen from the numerous terrestrial vertebrates that have returned to the water from their ancestors lived on land. That there's irony too that some like amphibians have to return to the water to reproduce, while others, ex: penguins, sea turtles, seals, sea lions, etc. have to return to the land to reproduce.

Awesome. It is true that in school we are usually given that idea of evolutionary progression from one form to the next, but it is really just change based on the environment and competition, isolation, etc. and whatever is currently available.

presenter has the coolest vibe as they explain; 10/10

I just watched your inner fish in my anthropology class. It’s a documentary about Neil shubin and his trams expedition in the Arctic and their discovery of tiktaalik

honestly it makes a lot of sense for something bearing that low-belly body plan to have an equally easy time developing in either direction without risking too much, especially that early on.

This is a great correction of the common misconception that evolution is a linear process while also being a cool paleontological discovery in its own right. Adding Qikiqtania to my personal dictionary.

It's so cool thinking about how branchy evolution can be. Seeing this as yet another example just makes me appreciate how crazy long the Earth is, and the amount of time life has been around, constantly evolving. And creatures like these were all just living their lives, for all this time.

I'm with these guys. I want to evolve back to water-dwelling too. Dry land sucks.

Loved the presentation, very open minded analysis and truth. Thanks for the land acknowledgement too. I very much appreciated the way evolution was described, as a non-linear process. Decolonising natural history and other domains is important. Wliwni thank you 💜💚

Any plans on doing a gecko special? I've been becoming a bit obsessed with them of late and it turns out they are an extremely complex branch on the reptile tree that they kind of have all to themselves.

Shout-out to progressive metal guitarist Charlie Griffiths and his album Tiktaalika for getting me to read about this guy earlier this year.

Why did it "return" to deeper waters? I can imagine two reasons: There was a minor extinction that killed off some major predators, making it safer to live in this niche, or open freshwater areas were simply not that explored by fishes yet. The other reason is that the larger predators were so successful as shallow water hunters thanks to their fins that deeper waters was a safer place to live than shallow water.

Really fantastic video! I love learning about these things, plus y’all make it so much fun to watch!

This was such an interesting look at the early evolution of tetrapods, and of the complexity and diversity of evolution. I’m sure the thought that 98% of species have gone extinct already is a big underestimate.

I LOVE fishapods like Tiktaalik & Qikiqtania, and Neil Shubin, who I ACTUALLY heard speak at Ohio University!!! 😍😊

We think of these fish as living in shallow, murky waters. As I watched a video on rivers drying up, the pretty, narrow, ray-finned fish seemed to be the ones that were dead, while the ones that could still flop on their ventrals were surviving better. It makes sense that this proto-tetrapod body shape would also do well in seasonal bodies of water, much like lungfish and catfish do today.

What if the two populations were originally together and were separated by the slow rise of a land barrier between them that forced one population out to sea while the other one was isolated in a lake or pond of sorts and the result is that the group that was in the lake was exposed to slowly reducing water content or size of the lake and slowly over time they eventually become amphibians and progress from there. Just an interesting idea that makes sense to me.

Keep up the great work, I love natural history and this show!

A fascinating subject and potentially an extremely complex one: Yes, while the 'fishapods' we know are considered our ancestors (this may be true) it's just as likely they are illustrative cousins only. There are pretty 'advanced' seeming tetrapod tracks older than any 'fishapod' we have found but no seeming tetrapod to match them. So what is going on..? a) Our 'fishapods' are our ancestors but these mysterious tetrapods are an earlier venture on to land that didn't work out for some reason. If so having gotten to an 'advanced' state what finished them off and why? Why not 'us' later on? What changed? Chance..? b) The mysterious tetrapods are our ancestors and the 'fishapods' were a convergent migration on to land that went nowhere. If multiple vertebrate lineages moved on to land that would be a surprise and require something of a rethink. c) -Land animals as we know them radiated from multiple sojourns on to land- Not true, all modern tetrapods are known to be one group. But has that always been true? If not true, when did out 'distant leggy cousins' die out and why? Are we aware of any potential candidates? d) We've got our dates wrong and these mysterious tetrapod tracks aren't that mysterious at all. A few million years younger than the likes of Tiktaalik there would be no mystery. ...all these questions are unanswered besides the subject of early tetrapod evolution being an utterly fascinating one. Whatever your branch of science it's always a journey of discovery and there's no sign of us running out of even fundamental things to discover any time soon. Here's a thought: Apart from five digits not being the norm early on the tetrapod limb as we know it comes in only one version. Either there really has only been one venture on to land by vertebrates (so what's going on?) or the evolutionary pressures that have resulted in 'our' limbs very strongly constrain the design indeed, but not necessarily the number of digits - if so, why? It's certainly not obvious.

As land fish aren’t we kinda reverse mermaids

Wasn't expecting my existence as a land fish to be validated today but I'm here for it.

These fins were made for walkin' And that's just what they did One of these days these fins were gonna walk all over earth

That fish was like "reject humanity, return to fish"

Could you imagine seeing Arthropods in the water and being like "Yea, I'll just go back to the water and take my chances!"

I guess if it was in a area that was prone to shifting conditions, like droughts and flooding, it would be a huge advantage to be able to move from shrinking pools and not be stuck without water, or find newly flooded areas with lots of resources.

Gotta say, I was pretty critical of Michelle when she first started hosting, but she is knocking it out of the park now. Great video, and keep up the great work

I had the amazing opportunity to see the original mold of Tiktaalik in person because Ted Daeschler worked in the same museum my now fiancé did. He was so cool

The intelligent one

I'm reminded of a tiktaalik meme.... "If you see a Horrid Beast evolving, *PUSH IT BACK IN*"

I think the fact that we share fish grandpas and grandmas as ancestors is cool as puck.

Idk why, but it just cracks me up thinking about an ancient fishopod that evolved over (possibly millions of) years to get onto land, then just NOPED right back into the water

I guess around the time tiktaalik was alive it was far too hot and still barren for it and it's descendants to really get on to land yes there were plants at the time but they were very small and not nutrient-dense and not really many meaty arthropods as well

Funny thing is, that legs actually didn't evolve for walking. First legs were quite useless for walking. They were new adaptation for aquatic life (there are several theories for their original function). They evolve in to walking legs probably in Carboniferous (or maybe mid Devonian, because from this period there are several ichnofossils which were made probably by a partially terestrial tetrapods. But every known late Devonian tetrapod is fully aquatic animal not capable of walking on land, which is another puzzle).

this is so interesting. are there any fishes that have that kind of limb structures nowadays? I'm not referring to sea mammals, I'm more thinking of some fish that evolved from the ones that didn't quite go on land and kept the weird bone formations in their fins

Pretty much like the fish version of tree-kangaroo evolution. Bunch of ground-dwelling wallabies develop climbing adaptations and become tree-kangaroos, but one member (the dingiso of New Guinea) turns around and reverts to a ground-dwelling lifestyle while retaining the anatomy of its arboreal ancestors.

I think this is the first time I've seen an Eons end acknowledgement getting to say that the fossils were collected with the permission and support of the relevant indigenous people. It's really nice to see that practices in paleontology are changing for the better.

I can’t believe Qikitania was hidden and unknown until 2020! All because Tiktaalik became the superstar of the paleontology world.

what if it was more of based on mating habits. perhaps the development for land was to lay eggs in safer shallows or in lake inland, however the reverting to fins maybe a group that found waterways to swim upstream like salmon and thus need the fins more than the ability to go on land. depending on how widespread the species was different areas could have work towards where it was safest to lay eggs and the route to get there.

This is very interesting. And can be quite confusing!!! Thank you Michelle for the great explanations!!! Also, Michelle is looking AWESOME!!!!!! Thank you!!!

If watching every paleontology video on TRvid has taught me anything, it's that the direct relative of *anything* was a rare subgroup which probably won't be captured in fossils.

Not a terrible choice, all things considered 🐟 💨 🌊 🏝

The thing that seems to be forgotten, is that the moon was so much closer. Thus tides were so much greater. So it wasnt so much that fish left the seas rather the seas stranded fish on land or in this case, forced land animals back into the sea.

I think the whole thing has to do with how low the oxygenation was in the waters these fishopods swam in. In the carboniferous, swamps and peat bogs abounded. Fish developed lungs to survive in acidic, anoxic waters. Their eyes evolved the ability to see through air and migrated to the top of their head, as the water was too murky for them to be useful in the water. Limb like fins helped to support the weight of the fish in shallow water, because they would suffocate without that support (until stronger ribs evolved). The advantage could also have been largely reproductive. Being able to access landlocked pools could provide a safe environment for eggs. Maybe the pelvic fins developed partly to dig in the mud, either creating channels between shallow pools or for burying eggs. But as these fish became more numerous, they spread to different environments, and in places where the water had more oxygen swimming was still a much better strategy for hunting.

underwater average fish: hey Qikiqtania you said you're going to the land Qikiqtania: no, the sun is a deadly lazer

Qikitania was kind of trend setter when you think about it. With the various marine reptile and mammals all returning to the open ocean and having to do some serious rejiggering to adapt but still showing tell tale signs of their terrestrial ancestry

Tiktaalik to Ken Hamm: These fins were made for walking, and that's just what they'll do. These fins are going to walk all over you.

You guys are great!

Wow! I have been wondering about what was the first animal to re-evolve back into the water, and y'all answered my question! Next question, have any invertebrates re-evolved back into being aquatic?

Love the episode! Thanks Eons :)

These fins are made for walking, and that's just what they're gonna do. One of these days these fins are gonna walk all over you!

Tiktaalik: Let's check out this land thing Qikoqtania: RETURN TO FISH

"Piscapods" sounds better to me than "Fishapods"! Excellent video.

Ostriches can probably feel a kinship bond with the way of thinking of these little fellas.

Now I'm curious as to what the Qikiqtania's recent living descendants look like, if there are any fish today that can be traced to have ancestral tetrapod limbs

the australian lungfish is rather interesting to look into

The animal's name comes from the Innuit name of the Canadian place where it was found, and David Wake, a late scientist who inspired many others to get into this field.

One important detail we tend to forget is that walking fins have been and continue to be used among fish ambush predators in dark or murky habitats. In effect they walk along the floor of the lake river bottom or seafloor in order to sneak up on prey that has adapted to detect the minute vibrations of swimming. This was probably an important intermediary in the evolution of legs because it doesn't require the animal to have the ability to bear its full weight thanks to still living in the water and appears to continue to be and have been a successful enough adaptation those this kind of murky river environment that it has evolved independently many times among different lineages of fish. Most if not all of these early tetrapodomorhs appear to have lived primarily if not entirely within the waters of the Devonian and molecular clock estimates seem to suggest that leaving the water was a late adaptation occurring around the time of the end Devonian extinctions and the onset of the late Paleozoic ice age. Though molecular clock estimates are notoriously hard to calibrate on their own there is fossil evidence to support this perspective and it is importantly the only explanation which can explain the order of physiological adaptations appearing in the fossil record. TDLR Tiktaalik and its relatives rarely if ever walked on land instead they likely show adaptations to predatory niches within the great Devonian river systems that formed around Earth's first true expansive forests. They simply all lack the robust muscle attachments needed to bear weight on land with their limbs which combined with molecular clock estimate suggests where the duplication and development of muscle and muscles attachment associated genes in extant tetrapods only appears to have occurred once in our lineages evolution as part of a polypoidal hybridization event. Note that the molecular clock estimates also coincide with a time of falling sea levels as vast ice sheets began to build across Gondwana setting the Earth into the vast series of glacial and interglacial cycles which drove evolution of the biosphere for the next hundred million years. Given that most other major land to sea transitions among life appear to coincide with major sea level changes this is by far the most likely hypothesis at least in logical arguments. After all you need to crawl to learn to walk to walk to learn to run evolution does not create features de novo it builds on what already exists based on what is more successful and reproducing. Without some ecological factor to drive them out of the water the model where they come out of the water and then back in doesn't hold up under Occam's razor and Bayesian inference(one unlikely event x times another unlikely event y is probably not more likely than x alone. I'll trust the model that actually has growing bodies of evidence to support it instead as limbs are necessary but not sufficient to walking on land and the duplication of muscle and muscles attachment associated genes only appears to have occurred once in our lineages evolution as part of a polypoidal hybridization event in this picture naturally they couldn't walk on land until they were forced to and the evolutionary incentive for that change was associated with dropping sea level changes. Until a model can present a scientifically plausible explanation for how Tiktaalik and its kin could support their weight out of the water I can't even consider the standard explanation scientific.

Man if i would have known life was gonna be like this i would have stayed in the primordial ooze.

“No thanks, I choose life.” - Sid

This video was incredible. Thanks!

When will the podcast continue? I love it and can't wait!!

I HIGHLY recommend “Why Fish Don’t Exist” by Lulu Miller for a captivating deep dive into this topic.

I blame everything not on our ancestors who came down from the trees but on their ancestors who left the nice, warm, muddy swamp... What were they thinking? What could be better than a basic existence in a nice, warm, muddy swamp where death arrives unseen? (muddy swamp remember.)

Ancient whales : "yeah those guys were onto something"

I didn't realize how big tiktaalik was.

This is truly interesting to think that even are out walking fish ancestors didn't want to go on land,lmao

Very interesting and extremely well presented! 🥰

I would argue that the transition from sea to land was inevitable, simply because life will expand to fill anywhere it can, regardless of how stable that ecosystem may be. But life will also happily stay exceedingly simple because thats stable. Sea sponges and jellyfish are proof of "it it ain't broke, don't fix it"