Fingers And Toes Evolved From Fins

Scientists have traced the origin of fingers and toes to fish-like creatures that roamed the seas 380 million years ago, according to a new study. The findings, published in the British-based science journal Nature, upend the prevailing theory on the evolution of digits.

The hand and the foot emerge from pre-existing bits of the fin skeleton that were just reshaped, rather than being entirely new bits that were bolted onto the existing fin skeleton.