Summary:
- Researchers used "palaeo-robots" - robotic models based on ancient fish fossils - to simulate the transition of early tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates) from water to land.
- The study provides insights into how the first land vertebrates may have moved and adapted to the terrestrial environment, including the development of limbs and changes in muscle and skeletal structure.
- The findings suggest that early tetrapods likely used a combination of undulatory swimming and limb-based locomotion during the water-to-land transition, providing a better understanding of this important evolutionary step.