Ancient limbed fish fossils return to Canada

The Tiktaalik roseae is seen after it was found in 2004. (T. Daeschler / VIREO)

An ancient limbed fish fossil that advanced scientists' understanding of evolution is back in Canada after its discovery more than a decade ago.

The fossils of the Tiktaalik roseae were found in 2004, on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut’s far north.

The Canadian Museum of Nature received the fossils this week, and will store them for future study.

The museum received about 60 specimens of the Tiktaalik roseae, including three or four fossils that show the skull, shoulders and fins, the museum said in a statement on Tuesday.

The 375-million-year-old "transitional fossil" from the late-Devonian period is a combination of a primitive lobe-finned fish and one of the first four-limbed creatures, the museum says.

The creature has scales, fins and gills that make it look like a fish. However, it also has many of the features of the first four-legged creatures and their descendants, known as tetrapods.

The Tiktaalik's skull isn’t attached to its shoulders, giving it a functional neck that fish lack. It also has ribs that support the body and could help it live and breathe on land, though it likely didn’t spend most of its time there, the museum says.

After years of describing its significance both academically and through its own Twitter handle American paleontologists Edward Daeschler, Neil Shubin and Farish Jenkins returned the fish to Canada this week.

"Now that our primary research is completed, the return of these fossils to Canada and their access at the Canadian Museum of Nature makes new discoveries possible by other scientists with questions about the evolution of life," Daeschler said in a statement.

The Tiktaalik will be stored at the museum's Natural Heritage Campus in Gatineau, Que.