Researchers believe that they already found the missing link of how an ancient aquatic predator that is similar to a dolphin later evolved into a land dwelling creature over a long period of time.

This creature is known as the Ichthyosaur - a reptile that lived in the oceans during the dinosaur age and later evolved into a land animal but also returns to the water frequently. 

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Paleontologists have long believed about this lineage between aquatic and land dwellers. Now, a fossil record provides important clues about this missing link.This missing link in the ichthyosaurs' evolution was actually discovered in China in 2011 by a team from the University of California, Davis, which dubbed the fossil Cartorhynchus lenticarpus.

Prior to this discovery in China's Anhui Province, there was no fossil evidence of this amphibian transition of dinosaurs that occured from land to sea.

According to the lead author of the study, Ryosuke Motani, this 248-million-years-old fossil shows clear evidence about this transition. Motani believes that this creature was neither terrestrial nor marine animal but a true amphibian.

The ichthyosaur can be described as possessing physical features such as large, flexible flipppers similar to the modern day seal with flexible wrists so that it can crawl on all fours on the ground .Motani confirms that the ichthyosaur is perfectly suited for land since nothing prevents it from dwelling on land.

This fossil found in China fits the missing link well when it comes to the transition among land and sea animals turning into amphibians. Motani believes that this pivotal fossil find fills this evolutionary gap.

This study detailing the evolutionary missing link of amphibians is published in the journal Nature.

TagsMissing Link Dinosaur Fills Evolutionary Gap Between Land and Sea Animals, amphibian evolution, ichthyosaur, Dinosaurs, how amphibians evolved, missing link ancient amphibian dolphin sea creature lizard monster