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Caption
The growth of Whatcheeria at four different stages of life were studied by examining the kind of bone present at specimen representatives from each stage. Bone organization can be used as a proxy for growth rate and this study reports disorganized, fibrolamellar bone in juvenile specimens and more organized bone in adult specimens. This pattern of fast rapid growth early in the life of Whatcheeria, followed by slow and reduced growth in the adults is a new finding in early tetrapods. This finding suggests that rather than growing slow-and-steady throughout their lives, at least some early tetrapods were growing rapidly to reach their adult size.
Credit
Skeletal reconstruction by B. Otoo.
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