Jenny Clack

British paleontologist Jenny Clack is famous for her groundbreaking research on *Acanthostega*, a Late Devonian tetrapod. Her work on this fossil significantly advanced our knowledge of the evolutionary transition from aquatic to terrestrial life. She specialized in the study of Devonian fossils and early tetrapods.

Clack's research on *Acanthostega* proved that early tetrapods had up to eight digits on each limb, rather than the standard five. This discovery overturned the previous scientific consensus regarding how vertebrates transitioned from water to land. Her work proved that limbs evolved for navigating swampy waters before they were used for walking on land.

Jenny Clack spent much of her distinguished career as a paleontologist at the University of Cambridge. She specialized in the study of Devonian fossils and eventually became a curator at the university's Museum of Zoology. Her research there focused heavily on understanding the transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments.

Jenny Clack led a famous expedition to Greenland in 1987 to search for early tetrapod fossils, returning to sites where *Acanthostega* was initially found. The fossils recovered during this trip provided the foundation for her paradigm-shifting research. The trip was funded by various grants to uncover more Devonian specimens.