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Tiktaalik may not have left the water by choice, to avoid predators, or to get more oxygen. Instead, it might have found itself left behind on a muddy floodplain each time waters receded with the tide. Tiktaalik ‘s “limbs” were probably first developed to survive in an environment that required bracing and stabilizing against currents, rather than maneuvering around rocks, plant limbs, or the water’s edges.