What are Basal Tetrapods?
Basal tetrapods refers to the tetrapods (four-legged animals) at the root of the tetrapod evolutionary tree, which contains all terrestrial vertebrates and even some marine animals such as cetaceans: whales and relatives. The basal tetrapods evolved from sarcopterygians (lobe-finned fishes), represented today by the living fossils the coelacanth and lungfish. 380 million years ago, during the Devonian period, the land lacked the lush forests which would characterize all later eras. True trees were just beginning to evolve, but primitive vascular plants would have been everywhere, creating short, shrub-like forests. These were populated by arthropods such as mites, scorpions and myriapods, as well as some simple mollusks which didn’t fossilize well. The bizzare fungal monolith Prototaxites, ranging up to 9 m (30 ft) in height, was the tallest thing around. The Earth was warm, causing the continental shelves to be flooded and the lowlands covered in nutrient-rich swamps. The environment
