Tetrapod

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/tetrapod

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific superclass?Tetrapoda
2. What is the estimated origin?Late Devonian period, approximately 360-380 million years ago
3. What are tetrapods?Tetrapods are animals that have four limbs and moved from water to land.
4. How did tetrapods first appear?They evolved from lobe‑finned fishes about 360‑380 million years ago, and fossils like Tiktaalik show both fish and early tetrapod features.

Sarcopterygii: A class of bony fish characterized by fleshy, lobed fins, ancestral to tetrapods.
Amniotic Egg: An egg with a protective membrane, allowing reproduction away from water, characteristic of reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Endothermy: The ability of an organism to generate its own internal heat, characteristic of birds and mammals.