The ancient tetrapod footprints in Poland were found on a former marine tidal flat or lagoon in an abandoned mountain quarry, suggesting the evolution from fins to limbs occurred in an intertidal or lagoon environment rather than a seasonally flooded forest.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by peer-reviewed Nature paper (Niedźwiedzki et al. 2010) and corroborated by independent science journalism sources describing the tidal flat/lagoon depositional setting and its implications for tetrapod evolution timing and habitat. [tier=gold indep_score=0.95 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Oldest Land-Walker Tracks Found--Pushes Back Evolution (seed:science_and_space)
- https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08623 (corroboration)
- https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/tetrapod-tracks-reset-timing-four-legged-evolution/ (corroboration)
- https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34730426 (corroboration)