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01. Proterogyrinus

(Early Carboniferous)

Many predatory, amphibious tetrapods evolved in the Carboniferous (350-300 mya). Proterogyrinus had a 6.5-ft (2-m) body and fanglike teeth.

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ancient four-legged creatures

Hundreds of different groups of animals came and went before the first dinosaur appeared around 230 million years ago. Backboned animals with arms, legs, fingers, and toes are called tetrapods, and the first tetrapod evolved from fish around 375 million years ago (mya). Over the next few hundred million years, an amazing variety of tetrapods evolved, from giant amphibians to odd mammal ancestors.

02. Phlegethontia

(Late Carboniferous)

You can usually tell tetrapods apart from their fish ancestors because they have legs. However, limbs were lost several times during tetrapod evolution. Snakelike Phlegethontia slithered along looking for prey.

03. Amphibamus

(Late Carboniferous)

Amphibamus looked like a salamander and was around 8 in (20 cm) long. It probably lived on land and hunted insects and other smali prey. It may have had a “tadpole” stage, when it lived in water and had gills.

04. Spinoaequalis

(Late Carboniferous)

Most early reptiles lived on land, but some took to life in water. Spinoaeęualis was a smali early reptile that lived around 300 mya. Tali, bony rods on its taił skeleton show that it had a deep, paddlelike taił.

It almost certainly used this for swimming.

c) 2011 Dorlin

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