The BBC has an article on some new finds in the Artic that "blurs the distinction between two forms of life - between an animal that lives in water and an animal that lives on land." The finds, of a species called Tiktaalik roseae are found in the Nunavut Territory, in northern Canada. According to the writer:
The creature shares some characteristics with a fish; it has fins with webbing, and scales on its back. But it also has many features in common with land animals. It has a flat crocodile-like head with eyes positioned on top and the beginnings of a neck - something not seen in fish.
Neil Shubin, the principle palaeontologist, is quoted as saying:
"We are capturing a very significant transition at a key moment of time. What is significant about the animal is that it is a fossil that blurs the distinction between two forms of life - between an animal that lives in water and an animal that lives on land."
The article also notes:
Professor Jennifer Clack, from the University of Cambridge, said that the find could prove to be as much of an "evolutionary icon" as Archaeopteryx - an animal believed to mark the transition from reptiles to birds.
This certainly takes the creationists' notion of "Kinds" and kicks it around a bit. Hat tip to R.L. Macklin.
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