Country diary: 145 footprints, ancient but somehow familiar | Amy-Jane Beer

Valentia Island, County Kerry, Ireland: It seems barely believable that this trail of depressions is early evidence of four-legged fish-like creatures making landfallIt's swelteringly hot and humid on this tropical floodplain south of the equator. Ripples generated in the soft mud before the water receded are starting to bake in when, as the sun sets, the land feels something new - a pressure different from that of wind or water. Different from the clasp of algae and liverworts, or more the aggressive penetration of roots. Different even from the pulse of burrowing worms or molluscs or the tickle of arthropod feet.The land feels the press of a flesh-and-bone body, weighing heavy out of water so that each step leaves a deep impression, those of the forelimbs smaller than the hind ones. There's a need to rest often, belly to mud, gulping moist air into rudimentary lungs. The risk of overheating and desiccation is high. On the plus side, there are all kinds of squirming, scuttling prey to snap up, and none of the larger predators with which the nearby water throngs. Continue reading...