New limb material showed eight digits in the Acanthostega forelimb, rejecting a fixed five-digit primitive condition and supporting an aquatic context for early digit-bearing limbs.
Represented range372.15–358.86 Ma
RegionsFamennian deposits, East Greenland
CladesAcanthostega · Devonian limbed tetrapods
Claim ledger
morphology · high
Upper Devonian East Greenland limb material documents eight digits in the Acanthostega forelimb, showing that five digits were not the fixed primitive condition and that digit-bearing limbs need not imply terrestrial walking.