Tiktaalik, named for the Inukitut word for burbots, is the epitome of  a "transitional fossil," or a  specimen that shows features from  its ancestors and its decendents.  Tiktaalik in particular shows the  transition between fish and terre- strial tetrapods. This one-point- eight meter long fish has normal  "fishy" features, like scales and gills, but also sports lungs, wrists,  and other features of four-legged  animals. The evolution of limbs with  wrists was significant, because it  allowed animals like Tiktaalik and  their decendents to prop themselves  up in shallow water and eventually  crawl onto land. If this never  happened, animal life might still be  stuck in the ocean!  Tiktaalik lived in the shallow  waters of the Devonian Period in Canada, which was almost centered on the Equator at the time. Its head  was very similar to that of a  crocodile; flat with eyes raised to  the top of the skull. The combin- ation of its raised eyes, sharp  teeth, and supportive limbs would have made it an effective predator,  able to rest on the beds of water- ways watching unsuspecting prey  float past. Small fish would have  been attracted to the shallows due to the large amount of leaves  dropping off the new deciduous  plants, making them the perfect place for a predator like Tiktaalik to lurk.