tetrapod

noun

tet·​ra·​pod ˈte-trə-ˌpäd 

: a vertebrate (such as an amphibian, a bird, or a mammal) with two pairs of limbs

Did you know?

The earliest tetrapods, or "four-footed" animals, were mammal-like reptiles that evolved before the rise of the dinosaurs and ranged from mouse-sized to cow-sized. Today the tetrapods include the reptiles, the amphibians, the birds, and the mammals—including humans. Though the fish aren't classified as tetrapods, it's quite possible that our own limbs began as paired fins hundreds of millions of years ago.

Examples of tetrapod in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the real value of these genomes is going to be once people start using them to understand what changes took place between these fish and the tetrapods that ultimately took over land. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 14 Aug. 2024

Finding common traits among the living lungfish species could hint at what features might have been shared with the first ancestor of tetrapods. —Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Aug. 2024

Those early tetrapods evolved to leave the water and live on land during the Devonian Period, between 419 million and 359 million years ago. —Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Aug. 2024

Back in 2021, researchers used this technology to complete the genome of the Australian lungfish—the one that maintains the limb-like fins of the ancestors that gave rise to tetrapods. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin tetrapodus, from Greek tetrapod-, tetrapous four-footed, from tetra- + pod-, pous foot — more at foot

First Known Use

circa 1891, in the meaning defined above